Joseph Duggar, a former reality TV star from TLC's 19 Kids and Counting, has been arrested on a child molestation charge in Arkansas and is awaiting extradition to Florida. The 31-year-old faces a charge of lewd and lascivious behaviour toward a child under 12, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff's Office in Panama City, Florida.
The charges stem from an incident during a family trip to Panama City Beach, where Duggar allegedly molested a 14-year-old girl when she was nine years old. The girl reported the abuse to police in Tontitown, Arkansas, who then contacted Bay County deputies. The girl's father confronted Duggar, who reportedly admitted to the abuse. During a recorded phone call with the father and a detective, Duggar again confessed.
Duggar's arrest comes nearly five years after his brother Josh Duggar was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images. Josh Duggar was sentenced in 2022 to about 12 and a half years in prison on charges of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. The family's TLC show was cancelled in 2015 following allegations that Josh had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter.
As of Thursday, no online court docket was available for Joseph Duggar in Florida, and it was unclear if he had legal representation. The Duggar family media request website did not respond to inquiries, and police in Tontitown did not comment.
