Joseph Garrett Duggar, a former star of "19 Kids and Counting," has been arrested and accused of molesting a child, authorities say.
Duggar, 31, was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving sexual activity with a 14-year-old female victim who was nine at the time of the alleged incident, the Bay County Sheriff's Office in Florida announced Wednesday, March 18.
During a forensic interview, the child disclosed several moments involving Duggar during a 2020 family vacation in Panama City Beach, the sheriff's office said. In one of these instances, Duggar purportedly asked the child repeatedly to sit on his lap and in another manipulated the child's underwear and grazed her genitals on a couch and under a blanket.
The child said Duggar, who was the seventh oldest of 19 siblings on the TLC reality series, later apologized to the child for his actions and no other incidents occurred, according to the sheriff's office.
In 2015, "19 Kids and Counting" was canceled following revelations that Josh, who is the oldest sibling, had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter when he was a teen. He also admitted that he cheated on his wife and shared a public apology in 2015.
Joseph Duggar's arrest comes years after his older brother, Josh Duggar, was arrested for possession of child pornography in 2021. He was convicted later that year and, in 2022, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
The sheriff said the child's father later confronted Duggar about the incidents on March 17 and the reality TV alum admitted to his actions to law enforcement in the city of Tontitown in northern Washington County, Arkansas. The Tontitown Police Department arrested Duggar, who is set to be extradited to Bay County, where he'll face his charge.