Josh Duggar is speaking out from behind bars after his brother Joseph Duggar was arrested for unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
Josh’s lawyer told the Daily Mail on Friday, March 20, that he was “deeply saddened” to learn Joseph, 31, was charged. Josh, 38, went on to slam the “false accusations” against his brother following “stigma.”
“He lives with the painful reality of how false accusations can destroy a life,” the statement on Josh’s behalf continued. “He understands how the targeting of a person for publicity can twist the truth into sensationalized fiction.”
News broke on Wednesday, March 18, that Joseph was awaiting extradition to Florida after being accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl in 2020.
According to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the alleged victim, now 14, was on a family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, when Joseph allegedly asked her to sit on his lap and “grazed her genitals” while under a blanket. Joseph apologized for his actions and no further incidents occurred at the time.
Authorities were later alerted to the allegations when the victim’s father confronted the former reality star earlier this month. Joseph once again admitted his actions to both the father and to detectives from the Tontitown Police Department in Arkansas. He was charged with 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.
Josh, meanwhile, pleaded not guilty to charges of receipt and possession of child pornography after being arrested in 2021. He was later sentenced to 151 months in prison, which he is still currently serving. (Josh has made numerous attempts to appeal his sentence, but they have all been denied so far.)
Joseph previously condemned Josh when he was accused of molesting five girls — four of whom were his sisters — when he was a teenager.
“Whenever somebody you respect the most is willing to get up and proclaim what we believe as Christians, about being true to your wife, you’d never think that that’s the person who’s involved in it,” Joseph said in a 2015 episode of Counting On about how Josh “was living such a secret” life. “It broke my heart.”
Josh isn’t the first member of the Duggar family to react to Joseph’s arrest. Jill Duggar broke her silence in a blog post on Thursday, March 19.
“We were shocked yesterday evening to learn of Jill’s brother (Joseph Duggar’s) arrest,” she wrote. “We first learned of anything related to his charges yesterday via a text from a friend who messaged us about the recent media reports of Joseph’s arrest and his alleged confession to molesting a juvenile female in 2020.”
Jill, 34, and husband Derick Dillard said they were “shocked and heartbroken” over the allegations.
“We strongly condemn abuse. We support the rule of law and hope that justice will be achieved,” the message continued. “Our hearts go out to the innocent juvenile victim of this unspeakable crime and her family. We pray God gives her strength, comfort and hope, and that she is able to get all the help and support she needs and deserves in the days ahead.”
The couple concluded with a message of support to Joseph’s wife, Kendra Duggar.
“We cannot imagine the indescribable pain they feel as they process and grieve everything,” they added.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
