A former reality TV star's mugshot has been released by law enforcement following his arrest on child molestation charges dating back to a 2020 incident in Florida with a nine-year-old girl.
Arkansas police released the picture of 19 Kids and Counting's Joseph Duggar to the public after his arrest on March 18, with the father-of-four remaining in Washington County Sheriff's Office custody until he can be extradited to Florida.
Duggar, who is the seventh child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, is charged with the lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years old, as well as lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older.
The 31-year-old's arrest on molestation charges is not the first accusation of serious wrongdoing levelled at one of the family's sons, with the Duggars' follow-up show, Counting On, being cancelled in 2021 after their eldest, Josh, was locked up for 12 years for possessing child abuse images in 2022.
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Joseph Duggar is described in the jail reports after he was booked into the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville as 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing 206 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair.
The charges arraigned against him stem from allegations relating to the molestation of a nine-year-old girl who was vacationing with her family in Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2020. It is alleged that Duggar asked her to sit on his lap and then abused her.
Bay County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) said: "As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket. During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs."
The statement continued: "The victim stated Duggar eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology."
Duggar's arrest only came after the alleged victim came forward and submitted to a forensic interview, with her father confronting the ex-reality TV star about the alleged molestation on Tuesday (March 17), where police claim Duggar 'allegedly admitted his actions to the father and Tontitown detectives'.
He will next appear in court on March 20, according to jail records.
Both Josh and Joseph starred in their parents' reality TV series, which followed the devout Baptist family as they homeschooled their large family and explored their faith in God.
In 2015, his elder brother, Josh, was accused of sexually assaulting minors when he was a teenager in 2002, with a police report claiming he had fondled the breasts and gentials of several victims while they were sleeping in the family's home, and that similar incidents had occurred four to five times, USA Today reports.
Following the coverage of the report by InTouch, Josh apologised on his Facebook page, writing: "Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends."
Jim Bob and Michelle later acknowleged on TV that four of the victims were their daughters, including Jill and Jessa, who eventually came forward in an interview with Fox News.
He was never charged in relation to those allegations.
Joseph also spoke out amidst the allegations against his brother, saying in 2015 that it 'broke my heart' and he was surprised Josh 'was living such a secret life'.
In wake of the incident, TLC cancelled 19 Kids and Counting, saying in a statement that 'after thoughtful consideration, TLC and the Duggar family have decided to not move forward with 19 Kids and Counting'.
In December, 2021, Josh was charged and convicted of receipt and possession of child pornography, of which he plead not guilty to April.
According to the US Department of Justice, the former reality TV star had a password-protected hard drive on his desktop computer at his used car lot in Springdale, Arkansas, which he used to download child abuse material over the course of three days in 2019.
His activity was discovered by Arkansas police during an undercover investigation, leading to a search of the car lot in November 2019 and the computer being seized by authorities.
Multiple timestamped messages from Duggar to various people also indicated he was at the lot during the time the abuse material was downloaded or displayed on the desktop.
UNILAD has contacted Bay County Sheriff's Office and the Duggar family for comment.
William Morgan