Joseph Duggar, one of the stars of 19 Kids and Counting, has been arrested on claims he sexually abused a 9-year-old girl.
The 31-year-old, who starred on the hit TLC reality series alongside his large family, was arrested in Arkansas after a 14-year-old contacted police regarding a number of alleged incidents involving Duggar during a vacation in Panama Beach City, Fla., when she was just 9 years old.
Content warning: Below contains descriptions of child sex abuse
In a statement posted to Facebook on March 18, the Bay County Sheriff’s Department announced Duggar was charged with “lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful activity with a minor.”
The victim claims that while on vacation in 2020, “Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap. As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket. During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs.”
She says Duggar eventually apologized for his actions and the abuse stopped.
According to the authorities, the victim’s father confronted Duggar on March 17, the day before his arrest, during which Duggar admitted his actions both to the girl’s dad as well as police.
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Duggar’s arrest comes five years after his older brother, Josh Duggar, was arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material. A few years prior Josh was accused of molesting five underage girls, four of which were his sisters.
Josh was convicted and is currently serving 12 years in prison.
Duggar, as well as his siblings including Josh, appeared on the hit TLC reality series 19 Kids and Counting, which aired from 2008 to 2015. The show followed the devout Baptist Duggar family, led by patriarch Jim Bob Duggar and his wife Michelle.
The show was canceled after the allegations against Josh Duggar were made public. A spinoff called Counting On began airing in 2015 and was canceled after Josh was arrested in 2021.
If you suspect a child has been the victim of abuse, contact the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
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