Joseph Duggar Charged with Molesting Girl Under 12

Joseph Duggar, a 31-year-old member of the large Arkansas family featured on the former TLC reality series "19 Kids and Counting," was arrested on March 18 in Tontitown, Arkansas, on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a girl under 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior by a person 18 or older. The allegations stem from incidents during a 2020 family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, where authorities say Duggar, then 28, repeatedly asked the 9-year-old victim to sit on his lap and next to him on a couch, covering them with a blanket. He allegedly manipulated her underwear, grazed her genitals, and rubbed her thighs on multiple occasions before apologizing, after which the behavior stopped.

The victim, now 14, reported the incidents to Arkansas police this year, prompting her father to confront Duggar on March 17. Duggar admitted to the acts during that discussion and to local detectives, leading to an arrest warrant. Extradited to Bay County Jail in Florida on March 31, he pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance and was released the same day on a $600,000 bond. Conditions of his release prohibit contact with the victim and unsupervised interactions...