Amy Duggar King is subtly addressing cousin Joseph Duggar’s claim he’s reading the Bible in jail following his arrest for child molestation.
“OK, I just had to get something off my chest real quick. The bible is not a PR strategy. You can read scripture day and night, all the time, and still avoid the truth. I mean, highlighting verses isn’t going to rewrite your actions. We cannot use faith as a coverup,” Amy, 39, said in a Sunday, March 29, Instagram post. “So, God isn’t impressed by your reading.”
She continued, “He’s impressed with transformation. He’s impressed when someone steps out and literally heals by telling the truth. If there’s no change in your life, then there’s no real repentance.”
Amy captioned the post, “You shall know them by their fruit. Can I get an Amen?”
News broke earlier this month that Joseph, 31, was arrested on suspicion of 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. The arrest came after a 14-year-old girl alleged that Joseph molested her when they were on vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2020.
Joseph appeared in court virtually on March 20 and did not enter a plea. He also waived his right to an extradition hearing. He is currently awaiting extradition to Florida.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time reading, uh, reading the Bible, they got me a Bible in here,” Joseph told wife Kendra Duggar during a phone call from the detention center obtained by People on Friday, March 27. “I’m in solitary [confinement].”
Joseph told his wife, with whom he shares four kids, that he’s spending “23 hours of the day” in “an 8-by-10 area” at the detention center.
“Pretty small area, but I’ve been able to read a lot actually, and resting some, but I’m not sleeping great through the night,” he said.
Days after Joseph’s arrest, Us Weekly confirmed that Kendra, 27, was also arrested. She was released that same day on a $1,470 bond. The pair are both facing charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment.
A source with knowledge of the case exclusively told Us on March 21 that Kendra’s arrest “has nothing to do with Joseph’s” molestation charge, but claimed “one precipitated the other.”
“After his charge, they automatically do a home study if minors live there. They came to her house,” the source said. “Apparently, they had two rooms where the lock of the doorknob was on the outside instead of inside. They arrested her and took her kids for that, saying it’s evidence that she wrongly detains her kids.”
A spokesperson for the Duggar family told Us in a statement, “[Kendra’s] is a misdemeanor charge totally unrelated to the Florida case.”
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.
