Duggar’s brother Josh was previously sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for child pornography possession.

19 Kids and Counting star Joseph Duggar arrested on child molestation charges

Duggar's brother Josh was previously sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for child pornography possession.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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on March 18, 2026 9:47 p.m. ET

Joseph Duggar. Credit:

Former *19 Kids and Counting* star Joseph Duggar has been arrested and charged with molesting a 9-year-old girl while on vacation, according to authorities.

The Bay County Sheriff's Office in Florida announced Wednesday that Duggar, 31, of Arkansas, was arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older. He is awaiting extradition to Panama City, where the alleged incident took place.

The sheriff's office alleged that during a family vacation in 2020, Duggar repeatedly asked the young girl to get on his lap, and when she sat next to him on a couch, he covered them with a blanket and "manipulated the victim's underwear and grazed her genitals."

Authorities said that the girl, now 14, recently came forward to police, saying that Duggar apologized for his actions at the time and then stopped. Investigators also alleged that the girl's father confronted Duggar on Tuesday, and that the former reality star admitted guilt to him and detectives.

** has reached out to the Duggar family for comment.

This is not the first time a member of the Duggar family has had a run-in with the law. In 2021, Duggar's older brother Josh was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography . He was subsequently sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.

The Duggar family rose to fame via the TLC reality series *19 Kids and Counting*, which followed former politician Jim Bob Duggar, wife Michelle, and their brood of nearly 20 children. Premiering in 2008 (as *17 Kids and Counting*), the program ran for 10 seasons, only to be canceled in 2015 after news emerged that, as a teen, Josh had been investigated for molesting five underage girls, including some of his sisters.

The family returned that same year on TLC with *Counting On*, an 11-season spinoff that didn't feature Josh but did include Joseph and his wife, Kendra. But once again, the show was canceled amid Josh's legal troubles.

According to the Duggar family website, Joseph currently works in real estate.

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