New Duggars House of Horrors: Sickening Details About Joseph's Arrest Are Released — As Older Brother Josh Serves 12-Year Sentence for Child Pornography
Joseph Duggar has been accused of molestation.
March 18 2026, Published 10:52 p.m. ET
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s family nightmare has taken another dark turn, as their seventh child, Joseph Duggar, has been arrested for alleged lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a nine-year-old girl, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
It comes as the 31-year-old former 19 Kids and Counting star's older brother, Josh Duggar, is rotting in a Texas federal prison for receiving child pornography.
Joseph Duggar Allegedly Molested a Girl During a Florida Family Vacation
A teenager came forward accusing Josph Duggar of molesting her during a family vacation in 2020.
Investigators from Bay County, Florida, were contacted by a detective with the hometown police Department of the Duggars in Arkansas on March 18, regarding a "report of past sexual abuse."
The victim, who is now 14 years old, talked to the Tontitown Police detectives in a forensic interview, detailing several incidents allegedly involving Joseph that occurred during a family vacation in Florida's Panama City Beach, the department shared in a Facebook statement.
The incidents allegedly took place in 2020, when the victim claimed Joseph repeatedly asked her to "sit on his lap."
As the getaway progressed, so did Joseph's behavior, according to the teen.
He asked her to "sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket." During that time, Joseph allegedly "manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals," while continuing to rub his hands on her thighs.
Joseph Duggar Was Arrested and Is Awaiting Extradition to Florida
Joseph Duggar and his wife, Kendra, reportedly share four young kids.
The victim went on to tell investigators that Joseph later apologized for his actions and that the alleged molestation stopped after that.
The teen's father just learned of what happened on March 17, after Duggar "admitted his actions to the victim’s father and to Tontitown Detectives," according to the Bay County Sheriff's Office.
The press release noted that Joseph was "arrested out of state and charged with 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."
He is currently awaiting extradition to Bay County to face the charges.
Joseph Duggar and Wife Kendra Live a Highly Private Life
Josh and Kendra Duggar haven't posted to social media since 2021 and lead a reclusive life.
Joseph is No. 7 out of Jim Bob and Michelle's 19 kids.
He married Kendra Caldwell in September 2017, and they welcomed at least three children over the next five years, with rumors they also have a fourth child.
The former TLC star and his wife were frequent social media users in the four years after their wedding, but became more reclusive and stopped posting to Instagram in 2021.
Josh Duggar Confessed to Molesting His Sisters
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Josh Duggar began a 12 year sentence in 2022 related to his porn conviction.
Joseph's molestation arrest comes after his older brother Josh admitted to his parents that he molested some of his sisters and a babysitter between 2002 and 2003 when he was a teenager, with some of the incidents happening while the girls were asleep.
Jim Bob and Michelle dealt with the situation by sending Josh to religious counseling, and waited almost two years to go to the authorities after their son's initial confession.
The police report, uncovered in 2015, blew the lid off what the Duggars had tried to bury internally years earlier.
Josh was later arrested in 2021 and charged with downloading child porn, including videos horrifically showing the sexual abuse of kids.
A jury convicted him in 2021 of receiving and possessing child porn, although the latter charge was later vacated.
Josh has been serving his 12-year prison sentence at FCI Seagoville in Texas since June 2022.
