Joseph Duggar and his wife, Kendra Duggarthey were reportedly last seen in a family vacation video released a few weeks before his arrest on child molestation charges.
Photos from the Duggar family’s annual Christmas costume party were posted on Joseph’s sister Jessa Seewald‘s “Holiday Festivities” vlog, which was published on February 9. In the video, Joseph, 31 wears a black dress covered in festive lights and Kendra is decorated as a Christmas tree at a holiday gathering.
“He’s a Christmas tree and I’m the one who lights his Christmas tree,” Joseph explained in the short clip.
Us Weekly confirmed on Wednesday, March 18, that Joseph has been arrested in connection with allegations of child molestation. Florida police released a lengthy statement confirming that Joseph was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior including molestation of a victim under the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior by a person 18 or older.
In that police statement, the 14-year-old victim came forward to authorities in Tontitown, Arkansas, alleging that she was sexually assaulted by Joseph during a 2020 family vacation to Panama City Beach when she was 9 years old.
“The victim reported that Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap. As the vacation continued, he again asked her to sit next to him on the couch and covered her with a blanket,” Bay City police said Wednesday. “During this time, Duggar was handling the underwear of the deceased and ate the private part, Duggar was rubbing his hands on her thighs.”
According to the police, Joseph “eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology.”
“Investigators determined that the victim’s father confronted Duggar about these incidents on March 17, 2026. Duggar confessed his actions to the victim’s father and to Tontitown detectives,” police added.
Joseph and Kendra Duggar in Jessa Duggar’s 2025 vacation vlog.
Courtesy of YouTube/Jessa SeewaldAs of publication, Joseph is still in custody awaiting extradition from Arkansas to Florida.
Us has contacted the Duggar family for comment.
Joseph and Kendra have kept a low profile in recent years, after starting a family Instagram account in February 2019. They stopped updating the account entirely in November 2021. (Joseph and Kendra tied the knot in September 2017. They share four children: Garrett David, 7, Addison Renee, 6, Brooklyn Praise, 5, and Justus, and Justus, and Justus, and 3.)
Joseph’s arrest is the latest dark incident in the Duggar family. In 2015, Joseph’s older brother, Josh Duggarhe publicly apologized for acting “unforgivably” when he was accused in a police report of molesting five girls, two of whom were his sisters, when he was young.
“I agreed [my actions] to my parents who took several steps to help me fix this situation,” Josh said at the time.” “We spoke to the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued in this wrong way I would end up ruining my life.”
It’s a sad situation. Jinger Duggar opened up about her relationship with her brother Josh Duggar after he was convicted of child pornography. “That was one of the hardest things,” the Counting On alum, 29, told Us Weekly exclusively ahead of the Tuesday, January 31, release of her book Becoming Free Indeed. “It’s hard to even talk […]
His statement continued, “I would do anything to go back to those teenage years and do different things. I sought forgiveness from those I wronged and asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life. In my life today, I am very grateful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.”
Josh was later convicted of an unrelated charge of possessing child sexual abuse material and sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2022. He maintains his innocence and disputes his decision.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
