’19 Kids and Counting’ Star Joseph Duggar Arrested on Child Molestation Charges

Warning: The article below contains discussions of sexual assault and child abuse.

Five years after his brother and 19 Kids and Counting costar Josh Duggar was sentenced to prison for possessing child sexual abuse materials, Joseph Duggar is now facing charges of lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor after allegedly molesting a 9-year-old girl while vacationing in Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2020.

According to People, the former reality star was booked into the Washington County, Arkansas, jail on March 18 and is now awaiting extradition to Bay County, Florida, where he will face the charges.

A social media post made by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office stated: “The Bay County Sheriff’s Office has arrested and charged 31-year-old Joseph Garrett Duggar for Lewd and Lascivious Behavior, involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor.”

“On March 18, 2026, Bay County investigators were contacted by a detective with the Tonitown Police Department regarding a report of past sexual abuse. The 14-year-old victim participated in a forensic interview, where she disclosed several incidents involving Duggar that occurred during a family vacation in Panama City Beach when she was 9-years old.”

In a statement taken by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office that was shared in the post, Duggar was said to have “asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket,” after which he allegedly “manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals.”

According to the post, the exact charges for which Joseph Duggar was arrested were Lewd and Lascivious Behavior – Molestation of a Victim Less Than 12-years-old and Lewd and Lascivious Behavior Conducted By A Person 18 Years or Older.

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The arrest comes more than a decade after his brother Josh’s own legal issues first became public. On May 21, 2015, In Touch Weekly revealed a 2006 police report detailing sexual molestation allegations against Josh. Then, in April 2021, six years after the Duggar family’s reality show was canceled, Josh was arrested for sharing child porn files as well as “images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers.”

Duggar was also accused of molesting four of his sisters and a babysitter, accusations which were investigated in 2006 but not pursued due to the statute of limitations.

If you or someone you know is the victim of child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911.