Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar break silence over son’s arrest for molestation – Nationwide
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have damaged their silence following the arrest of their son, Joseph Duggar, earlier this month on fees of molesting a nine-year-old lady in Florida in 2020.
A spokesperson for the household instructed a number of retailers on March 30 that Jim Bob, 60 and Michelle, 59, are “heartbroken over this complete scenario.”
“Proper now, they’re centered on loving their household and serving to Kendra and her kids throughout this troublesome time,” the spokesperson stated, referencing Duggar’s spouse, Kendra, and her 4 kids. “They’re praying for the sufferer. They ask for privateness and admire the sort phrases and prayers provided by so many.”
Joseph Duggar, 31, is accused of lewd and lascivious behaviour involving illegal sexual exercise with a minor, the Bay County Sheriff’s Workplace stated in a information launch on March 18.
“On March 18, 2026, Bay County investigators have been contacted by a detective with the Tontitown Police Division concerning a report of previous sexual abuse,” the information launch stated. “The 14-year-old sufferer participated in a forensic interview, the place she disclosed a number of incidents involving Duggar that occurred throughout a household trip in Panama Metropolis Seashore when she was 9-years-old.”
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In response to the investigation, the incident occurred in 2020 whereas the household was staying at a residence on Danny Drive, the Bay County Sheriff’s Workplace stated.
The sufferer, who’s now 14, instructed police the incidents stopped after Duggar finally apologized for his actions.
“Investigators found the sufferer’s father confronted Duggar about these incidents on March seventeenth, 2026. Duggar admitted his actions to the sufferer’s father and to Tontitown Detectives,” police added.
Duggar was arrested out of state and charged with lewd and lascivious behaviour involving molestation of a sufferer lower than 12 years outdated and lewd and lascivious behaviour carried out by an individual 18 years or older.
Duggar was being held in solitary confinement at Washington County Detention Middle in Fayetteville, Ark., till March 27, when he was launched.
Joseph Duggar’s mugshot.
Washington County Sheriff’s Workplace
He was formally booked by the Bay County Sheriff’s Workplace in Florida on March 31, in keeping with jail information, seen by International Information.
Duggar’s newest mugshot was launched by the Bay County Sheriff’s Workplace on Tuesday.
Joseph Duggar’s newest mugshot from Bay County Jail.
Bay County Jail
Kendra Duggar was additionally arrested and charged in Arkansas this month on a number of misdemeanour fees.
Kendra, 27, is dealing with 4 counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree false imprisonment, the Tontitown, Ark., police division stated in a Fb replace on March 20.
“This stays an lively and ongoing investigation,” the assertion stated, including that Arkansas legislation limits the discharge of knowledge in investigations involving minors.
“To guard the integrity of the investigation and the privateness of these concerned, no additional particulars will probably be supplied at the moment,” the division added.
© 2026 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
