TONTITOWN — Another member of the Northwest Arkansas family known for its popular reality TV show “19 Kids and Counting” is facing sex crimes charges.
Joseph Garrett Duggar, 31, was arrested Wednesday by Tontitown police on suspicion of 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, according to a news release posted on Facebook by the Bay County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office.
Duggar is awaiting extradition to Bay County, where the reported activity occurred, according to the release.
A Tontitown police detective contacted Bay County investigators Wednesday regarding a report of sexual abuse, the release states.
The 14-year-old girl who made the report participated in a forensic interview, where she disclosed several incidents involving Duggar that occurred during a 2020 family vacation in Panama City Beach, Fla., when she was 9 years old, the release states.
The girl 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, at which time Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar also continued to rub his hands on her thighs, according to the release.
“The victim stated Duggar eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology,” the release states.
The girl’s father confronted Duggar about these incidents Tuesday. Duggar admitted his actions to the girl’s father and Tontitown detectives, according to the release.
The Tontitown Police Department, in a separate news release, stated its officers received a warrant from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for Duggar about 3 p.m. Wednesday. The department noted the reported criminal activity did not occur in Tontitown.
“The Tontitown Police Department wants the community to know that this matter is being handled with the highest level of professionalism, compassion, and diligence,” the release states.
Duggar is known for being part of his family’s cable television reality show “19 Kids and Counting” on TLC. The show, which chronicled the Duggar family’s home life, was canceled in 2015 after it became public knowledge one of Duggar’s brothers — Josh Duggar — confessed to molesting four of his sisters and another girl while he was a teenager.
JOSH DUGGAR’S CHILD PORN CASE
Josh Duggar was convicted Dec. 9, 2021, of possessing child pornography by a federal court jury in Fayetteville. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks to 12½ years in federal prison on May 25, 2022. Duggar also was ordered to serve 20 years of supervised release after his prison term and to pay a $10,000 fine. Brooks assessed fees totaling $40,100.
Prosecutors accused Duggar in early 2021 of using the internet to download and view child pornography, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children younger than 12, according to court documents. They told jurors child pornography was repeatedly downloaded on the computer at Duggar’s used car lot May 14-16, 2019.
He was charged in federal court with two counts involving receiving and possessing child pornography. The jury found him guilty on both counts after more than six hours of deliberation over two days. Duggar was sentenced on the single count of receiving child pornography because possession of child pornography is considered a lesser included offense under federal law.
He is currently seeking to appeal his conviction contending he was denied a fair trial and his constitutional rights were violated. He filed the initial motion without the help of a lawyer. Duggar has been denied post-conviction relief by local judges, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Beau B. Brindley, a Chicago lawyer who previously represented singer R. Kelly, recently filed a motion asking to represent Duggar in that appeal.