Joseph Duggar suddenly took a break from social media right before his brother Josh Duggar’s child pornography trial.
Joseph and his wife, Kendra Duggar, who were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl in 2020, deactivated the family’s Instagram account in November 2021, the same month that Josh’s trial began.
The couple opened the account in February 2019 and over the next two and a half years shared photos of their three children, Garrett, 7, Addison, 6, and Bullynn Praise, 5.
His last post, shared on November 3, 2021, was in honor of his daughter Addison’s second birthday.
The comments on the post are currently filled with fans accusing Joseph, 31, of criminal charges.
Meanwhile, Josh’s trial began on November 30, 2021 in Arkansas.
He was convicted on December 9, 2021, of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison.
Josh is currently serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Seagoville in Texas.
Joseph previously spoke out against Josh’s sexual abuse of five girls, including sisters Jill and Jessa Duggar, on a December 2015 episode of “Jill & Jessa: Counting On.”
“When the person you respect the most stands up and is willing to proclaim what we believe as Christians, which is to be faithful to your wife, you never think that person has anything to do with it,” Joseph said at the time.
He also said he was “heartbroken” that his brother was “living such a secret life.”
Joseph never spoke publicly about Josh’s conviction.
Joseph and Kendra, 27, reappeared in the video blog “Holiday Festival,” which Jessa shared to YouTube on February 9, a month before Joseph’s arrest.
In the video, Joseph wore a black bodysuit covered in festive lights, while Kendra wore green for her family’s annual Christmas costume party.
“She’s the Christmas tree and I’m the one lighting her Christmas tree,” Joseph said in the video.
A year before Joseph fled social media, he was accused of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl in Florida.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that Joseph was charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a victim under the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious acts with a victim over the age of 18.
According to their investigation, the incident allegedly occurred in 2020, and the victim, now 14, claims Joseph “repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap.”
The former reality star allegedly asked her to sit next to him on the couch before covering her with a blanket and touching her private parts. Joseph also allegedly rubbed his hand on her thigh.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office said Joseph confessed to the crime when the victim’s father met with him on Tuesday.
Page Six confirmed that Joseph was arrested and remains in custody at the Washington County Jail in Arkansas. He is not officially booked.
Arkansas State Police told us he will then be extradited to Bay County, Florida.
