Joseph Duggar relied on his faith during his time in jail.
According to jailhouse audio released by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and obtained by Us Weekly on Wednesday, April 8, Joseph, 31, spoke to his wife, Kendra Duggar, about how he was finding strength while behind bars.
“I just went into my prayer closet, and I had a really good time praying for you and for the kids and even for Mama and Joy, because they’ve been assisting you a lot,” Joseph shared. “I found Psalm 54 has been one that I’ve been praying. I changed kind of the personal pronouns and just put your name or different [people’s] name on it. It’s been really comforting.”
At one point in his phone call, Joseph spoke highly of his mom, Michelle Duggar, “because I know that this weighs on her heavily.”
“You can let her know that I’m very, very thankful for her support for you, and I know she’s done a lot, probably in this whole journey of stuff,” he said. “Just make sure she knows that I love her. I was praying Psalm 54 over her too, because I feel like the attacks that are coming to our family are also coming probably to her, or she feels the pressure of it.”
Us Weekly previously confirmed on March 18 that Joseph was arrested in Arkansas amid accusations of sexual abuse from a 14-year-old girl, who was 9 years old at the time of the alleged incident.
The former reality TV star has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including lewd and lascivious behavior involving molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older.
On March 31, Joseph was released from a Florida jail after posting $600,000 bail. Kendra, 27, reportedly put her family’s home up for rent and sold personal items to secure the necessary funds to pay for Joseph’s bond.
During the call, Kendra tried to offer support to her husband and father of their four children.
“Something else I was gonna say is that I know that I have Brother Carl. He texted me and said to tell you that he loved you and loved us,” she said. “And I was thinking, I need to relay that to you. Well, I know that everybody here loves you. I’ve heard that they all want to visit you when they can, and we’re all grieved about the situation, but there’s love too, so I want you to know that.”
Since Joseph’s release from a Florida jail, the former TLC reality star has been able to reunite with Kendra in Arkansas, his lawyer confirmed to People.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
