“It’s good to hear from you,” Kendra told Joseph, acknowledging that she missed his previous call. Joseph said that he also sent her an email, which are free, whereas phone calls cost him. “I think I have 60 bucks, so I can at least use that to call,” he shared, revealing that he had $50 in his wallet when arrested. “I’m not gonna use it for anything else.”<\/p>\n
Joseph was arrested March 18 on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years old, and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida has said that the alleged victim, now 14, recently came forward with allegations that Joseph molested her when she was 9 while on a 2020 family vacation in the Sunshine State. According to a statement from authorities, the child claimed that Joseph “repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap” throughout the vacation, and allegedly covered the two of them with a blanket and “manipulated the victim\u2019s underwear and grazed her genitals.”<\/p>\n
Arkansas police subsequently announced that Joseph and Kendra had been charged<\/a> with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, second degree, as well as four counts of false imprisonment, second degree. A spokesperson for the Duggar family has said that the Arkansas charges are not related in any way to Joseph’s child molestation charges in Florida.<\/p>\n Joseph and Kendra Duggar The conversation between Kendra and Joseph turned to the status of her and their children. “Did you hear where I’m at?” she asked, with Joseph, knowing they were being recorded, suggesting that it might not be a good idea to share. After some hesitation, Kendra revealed that “they brought me to a good place to stay that’s very private,” to which Joseph replied, “Oh, praise the Lord.”<\/p>\n In the same collect call<\/a>, Joseph shared that he was in solitary confinement for “23 hours of the day” during his week-plus stay at the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville. The \u201c8-by-10 area\u201d of the facility where he\u2019s being held is \u201cpretty small,\u201d Duggar explained, \u201cbut I\u2019ve been able to read a lot actually, and resting some, but I\u2019m not sleeping great through the night.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, Joseph was released from the custody<\/a> of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to be extradited to Panama City, Fla., the location of his alleged crime. But, as of now, he has not officially been booked by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.<\/p>\n Joseph’s brother, Josh Duggar<\/a>, is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted of possessing child pornography in 2021. Josh responded to Joseph’s arrest<\/a> via a statement from his lawyer.<\/p>\n “Josh understands the stigma of being accused,” Josh’s attorney told the Daily Mail<\/a>. “He lives with the painful reality of how false accusations can destroy a life. He understands how the targeting of a person for publicity can twist the truth into sensationalized fiction.”<\/p>\n The Duggars<\/a> rose to fame with their TLC show 19 Kids and Counting (originally 17 Kids and Counting), but the program was canceled in 2015<\/a> after it was revealed that Josh was investigated in 2006 in connection with claims that he molested five underage girls as a teenager, including four of his sisters. He was never charged in relation to those claims.<\/p>\n The Duggars returned to TLC with Counting On<\/a> in 2015. That show was canceled in 2021 after Josh’s child pornography conviction.<\/p>\n![\"Joseph](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/66bbda4ac82ad50ec92a0110c34ad4ff.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Little Duggar Family\/Instagram<\/p>\n