What to Know
On Wednesday, news broke that Joseph Duggar — younger brother to Josh Duggar and former star of 19 Kids & Counting and Counting On — had been arrested after he was accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl. The charges against him are eerily similar to what his older brother Josh was accused of, and now, it’s making people wonder what other skeletons the Duggars might have in their closets.
People aren’t that surprised to hear this news, though.
Considering that Joseph’s older brother, Josh, was known to have molested young girls (including his own sisters) years before he was convicted on charges involving child sexual assault material (CSAM), many critics who have reacted to the news on social media aren’t exactly surprised to find out that another Duggar son has been arrested for something similar.
“Another one… systemic at this point right? Patriarchy at its finest,” one person wrote. Another Facebook commenter said, “How am I not surprised?!”
Is something more sinister going on in the Duggar family than we originally realized?
Others took the opportunity to bring up a pretty disturbing thought: What if there are even more crimes like this hidden in the family?
“The apples in that family don’t fall very far from the father tree. I suspect there is more where that comes from,” one commenter wrote, and another said, “The majority of people who become pedophiles were victims themselves now I am not saying that’s an excuse, but there is something very rotten in that family.”
ALSO READ: Joseph Duggar Arrested, Accused of Molesting 9-Year-Old Girl
So far, Joseph hasn’t released any statements about his arrest, and it doesn’t seem like anyone else in his family has, either, including his wife, Kendra, with whom he shares four small children.
Joseph was arrested by the Tontitown Police on March 18.
According to a report from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Joseph has been accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl (who is now 14) during a family vacation to Panama City Beach, Florida, with the victim telling Tontitown Police that Joseph “repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap” and similar incidents continued to occur during the vacation when he “asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket.”
He admitted to the behavior to both police and to the victim’s father, and he was arrested on charges of “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.”
It sounds like the next step for Joseph is his extradition to Bay County, so there’s likely a new update on the situation coming soon.
READ NEXT: Josh Duggar Hires R. Kelly’s Lawyer Despite the Fact That He Also Claims He’s Broke
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
