Four years after older brother Josh Duggar of “19 Kids and Counting” was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material, another Duggar brother has been arrested for sex crimes against children.
Yesterday, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged 31-year-old Joseph Garrett Duggar with lewd and lascivious behavior, involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
Joseph is married and has five young children.
On March 18, 2026, Bay County investigators were contacted by a detective with the Tontitown Police Department regarding a report of past sexual abuse. The 14-year-old victim participated in a forensic interview, where she disclosed several incidents involving Duggar that occurred during a family vacation in Panama City Beach when she was 9-years-old.
According to the investigation, the incidents took place in 2020 while the family was staying at a residence on Danny Drive. The victim reported Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap. 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 victim stated Duggar eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology.
After the victim’s father found out about the incidents, he confronted Duggar on Monday. Duggar admitted what he had done and later confessed to detectives.
Duggar was arrested out of state and charged with Lewd and Lascivious Behavior – Molestation of a Victim Less Than 12 Years Old and Lewd and Lascivious Behavior Conducted By a Person 18 Years or Older.
If convicted, the former charge is a life felony, carrying a penalty of up to life in prison, life probation, and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration.The second charge is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, 15 years of sex offender probation, and up to $10,000 in fines.
