Another member of the Duggar family, famous for the TLC series \u201c19 Kids and Counting,\u201d faces allegations of child sex abuse. <\/p>\n
Joseph Duggar, the 31-year-old son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and the younger brother of convicted sex offender Josh Duggar<\/a>, was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Arkansas by local law enforcement on suspicion of molesting a minor in Florida, the Bay County Sheriff\u2019s Office announced in a statement<\/a>. The sheriff\u2019s office said it received a report on Wednesday of past sexual abuse allegedly involving Duggar and a 14-year-old girl. The girl alleged she was 9 years old during one of several alleged incidents, police said.<\/p>\n The teenager, according to law enforcement, accused Duggar of molesting her in 2020 while she was vacationing with family and staying at a residence in Panama City Beach. He is accused of touching the girl\u2019s genitals and rubbing her thighs. <\/p>\n Resources for survivors of sexual assault <\/p>\n If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual violence, you can find support using RAINN\u2019s National Sexual Assault Hotline. Call (800) 656-HOPE or visit online.rainn.org<\/a> to speak with a trained support specialist.<\/p>\n According to the statement, the victim said Duggar \u201ceventually apologized\u201d for the abuse, and he stopped touching her. Duggar had also \u201cadmitted his action\u2019s to the girl\u2019s father and to Tontitown detectives in Arkansas, Duggar\u2019s home state, law officials said. The Tontitown Police Department confirmed Duggar\u2019s arrest in a separate statement<\/a>, noting it acted on a warrant issued by the Bay County Sheriff\u2019s Office. <\/p>\n The former reality star was charged with molestation of a victim younger than 12 and \u201clewd and lascivious behavior conducted\u201d by an adult. Duggar, who is currently jailed at the Washington County Detention Center, awaits extradition to Florida. He could not immediately be reached for comment. <\/p>\n Joseph Duggar, his parents and his siblings \u2014 whose first names also begin with the letter J \u2014 became unexpected reality TV stars with the premiere of TLC\u2019s \u201c19 Kids and Counting\u201d in 2008. The series followed the giant family, highlighting their Christian fundamentalist lifestyle. The family\u2019s once-charming facade of purity and religious devotion quickly faded in 2015<\/a> when Josh, the firstborn Duggar child, was accused of molesting five younger girls \u2014 four of whom were his sisters \u2014 when he was 15. The series was canceled that year.<\/a><\/p>\n In a separate case, Josh was convicted on two counts of possessing and receiving child pornography in December 2021. He was sentenced to 12 \u00bd years in prison <\/a>in 2022. The Supreme Court rejected<\/a> his efforts to appeal his case last June. <\/p>\n