Joseph Duggar, a former cast member of the popular TV show “19 Kids and Counting,” was taken into custody in Arkansas on Wednesday for alleged inappropriate behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor, as per authorities. The charges against Duggar stem from an incident in Florida in 2020, where a 14-year-old girl disclosed in a forensic interview in March 2026 that Duggar had behaved inappropriately towards her during a family trip to Panama City Beach when she was just 9 years old.
The arrest took place in Tontitown, Arkansas, where the reality show “19 Kids and Counting” was filmed. According to a statement from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Duggar confessed to the victim’s father and Tontitown detectives about the incidents on March 17th, 2026, after being confronted by the victim’s father.
A separate release from the Tontitown Police Department confirmed that a warrant for Duggar’s arrest was issued on the same day, and he is awaiting extradition to Bay County. Neither Duggar nor his family have made any public statements regarding the allegations.
This arrest follows the conviction of Joseph Duggar’s brother, Josh Duggar, for possession of child sexual abuse material. Federal authorities began investigating Josh Duggar after discovering child sexual abuse content being shared from a computer linked to him. He was found to have downloaded explicit images of child abuse in 2019 and was sentenced to 12½ years in prison in 2022.
The reality show “19 Kids and Counting” was canceled by TLC in 2015 following accusations that Josh Duggar had molested his sisters and a babysitter. Despite these allegations, the authorities determined that the statute of limitations had expired for any potential charges against Josh Duggar. In response to the resurfaced allegations, Joseph Duggar and other family members addressed the situation on a TLC special called “Jill & Jessa: Counting On,” expressing shock and disappointment over the revelations about Josh’s behavior.