Joseph Duggar Quickly Mentions Dad Jim Bob In Released Phone Call Behind Bars — As Jailed TV Star Could 'Face Life In Prison' On 'Child Molestation' Charges
Joe Duggar's jailhouse phone call revealed his post-arrest demeanor.
March 23 2026, Published 7:55 p.m. ET
Joe Duggar was calm and didn't seem to be distressed at all following his arrest for child molestation, as heard on his jailhouse phone call, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former TLC star was nonplussed and showed little emotion as he spoke with his attorney about his next steps after he was booked into jail on March 18 for alleged lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a nine-year-old girl in 2020.
Joseph Duggar's Calm Conversation
Joseph Duggar spoke calmly in a new jailhouse phone call audio.
"Hi there. This is, uh, Joe Dugger here. Hey, I'm over here at the Washington County," the father of four began in a friendly voice while speaking to what is believed to be a bail bondsman.
Joseph apparently had already called his dad, Jim Bob Duggar, about his arrest before talking to the bondsman, telling him, "I don't know if my dad mentioned it to you or not," about his being in custody at the Washington County Detention Center.
The former 19 Kids and Counting star seemed a little unclear about the gravity of his situation.
"I didn't know if we need to talk sometime about things or how the process works here on this side, or if you know anything I don't," Joseph asked.
"Well, you're there, you're in custody pending the issue of a governor's warrant by the state of Florida," they responded.
Chilling Allegations Details
Joseph and wife, Kendra Duggar, share four young children, seen here with their two eldest.
Joseph was arrested in Tontitown, Arkansas, after he allegedly confessed to the now 14-year-old victim's father on a phone call that he molested the girl on a 2020 family vacation to Panama City Beach, Florida.
In an affidavit filed by the Bay County, Florida, Sheriff's Office, criminal investigator Chase Norris wrote that he "requested the detective and the victim’s father call the defendant," during which Joe "admitted his actions," and said, "he touched the victim over her clothing."
Norris chillingly wrote that the disgraced reality star "admitted his intentions were not pure" when he allegedly molested the victim.
Disturbing New Details of Joseph Duggar's Confession
Joseph Duggar allegedly molested the nine-year-old girl on several occasions.
After reviewing the interview, Norris wrote that Joseph unsettlingly "asked the victim to sit on his lap, numerous times," and "would cradle the victim with his arms."
He then asked the girl to "sit on the couch" beside him, where Joseph "covered the parties with a blanket" and began to "pull the victim’s dress up and touch the victim’s thighs."
The ex-TV star's hand then allegedly began to "touch the top portions of her thighs and would inch higher and higher, closer to the victim’s waistline," and that "defendant’s hand grazed the victim’s vagina," which happened on several occasions.
It left the girl feeling "uncomfortable and confused," the affidavit stated.
After Joseph "eventually approached the victim and apologized for his actions, the incidents stopped occurring."
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Kendra Duggar Winds Up in Jail Too
Kendra Duggar was arrested on child endangerment charges on March 20.
Joseph was hit two days later with eight additional charges unrelated to the alleged molestation.
He and his wife, Kendra, were charged on March 20 with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of false imprisonment, related to the couple's four young children.
Following Joseph's arrest on the initial case, authorities went to their house to perform a home study since minors lived there.
They discovered two of the bedrooms had locks on the outside of the doors, but not the inside.
"They arrested her and took her kids for that, saying it’s evidence that she wrongly detains her kids," an insider said about how the two boys and two girls were taken into custody by DCFS, while Kendra ended up briefly behind bars.
Kendra was freed hours after she was taken into custody, after her $1,470 bond was paid. She was photographed driving away from the WCDC with her mother-in-law, Michelle Duggar, behind the wheel.
