Member of Famous Reality TV Family Reportedly Arrested—What We Know
Joseph Garrett Duggar, former star of reality show 19 Kids and Counting, has allegedly been arrested by the Bay County Sheriff's Office on charges of "lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years old".
The offence reportedly took place in Florida in 2020, when Duggar is alleged to have sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl who was vacationing in Panama City Beach with her family.
According to FOX 5, "the victim's father confronted Duggar about the incidents on Tuesday, when he then allegedly admitted his actions to the father and Tontitown detectives."
An official statement from the Bay County Sheriff's Office on Facebook confirms that "the [now] 14-year-old victim participated in a forensic interview, where she disclosed several incidents involving Duggar."
According to the victim's report, Duggar "repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap" and "asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket" before sexually assaulting her. This reportedly happened multiple times, before he reportedly apologized and confessed to the Tontitown detectives yesterday—six years after the fact.
Duggar is currently awaiting extradition to Bay County for trial, though no time frame has been given yet.
The Duggar family was the subject of a popular reality television show called 19 Kids and Counting, which aired between 2008 and 2014. The show was canceled when reports emerged that the family's eldest son, Joshua Duggar, had been charged with molesting five underage girls—four of his sisters and their babysitter.
Evidence emerged in 2021 that Josh Duggar—who is now serving a prison sentence of twelve and a half years—had shared sexually explicit imagery of children from his personal computer.
His parents, Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar, "admitted they knew of the incidents," according to FOX 5.
Joseph Duggar will be transported to Bay County, Florida, for further investigation of the accusations against him.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of domestic violence and/or sexual assault, help is available 24 hours a day through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, and RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.