NEED TO KNOW
Amy Duggar King said in an interview on The Sarah Fraser Show that she recently spoke to the girl accusing Joseph Duggar of sexually assaulting her when she was 9
“I just gave her hope. I said, ‘This doesn’t have to destroy you. It really truly doesn’t,'” Amy told host Sarah Fraser of the conversation she had with the girl
Amy also said that she called Joseph’s sister Jill Dillard in tears after Joseph’s arrest
The young girl accusing Joseph Duggar of sexual assault recently spoke with one of his family members.
Amy Duggar King said in an interview on The Sarah Fraser Show that she had spoken with the girl who claims Joseph molested her during a family vacation in 2020.
“I just gave her hope. I said, ‘This doesn’t have to destroy you. It really truly doesn’t,'” Amy told Fraser about the conversation she had with Joseph’s accuser. “I told her that if she ever just needed a safe place to talk, that I’m here.”
Amy Duggar ; Joseph Duggar.
Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video ; The Duggar Family/Instagram
Amy also praised the girl’s strength in coming forward.
“You speaking out and you being so honest and vulnerable, knowing the backlash and knowing the people that would turn their backs on you and not believe you, you are such a strong person,” Amy recalled telling the young girl.
Amy Duggar with husband Dillon King
Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
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Amy said that she hopes her cousin Joseph will plead guilty to the crimes he is accused of when his trial begins sometime later this year, rather than continue to plead not guilty.
“I don’t understand how you can admit to it and say you did it, and then backtrack and change it and be like, ‘Well, I might have said that, but I didn’t mean that,'” Amy said in the interview — seemingly referring to an alleged admission described in Joseph’s arrest affidavit, though she did not specify. According to the affidavit, Joseph allegedly “admitted his actions,” saying he had touched the girl over her clothing, and “admitted his intentions were not pure” during a phone call with the girl’s father and a detective.
Amy said that when she first learned that Joseph had been arrested back in March she reached out to his sister, Jill Dillard, who was molested by her older brother Josh Duggar when she was a child.
“I immediately cried. I immediately called Jill, and Jill and I cried on the phone,” Amy said, adding that she told Jill she would not get off the phone until she was sure she was “okay.”
Joseph is due back in court next week for a pretrial hearing in his case.
His accuser, who is now 14, said that she was just 9 years old and on a family vacation in Florida when “several incidents of sexual abuse” allegedly occurred, according to a copy of the affidavit for an arrest warrant filed in the case and obtained by PEOPLE.
Joseph was among the guests on that trip to Panama City Beach, and per the affidavit, allegedly approached the young girl and “asked [her] to sit on his lap, numerous times.”
At first, Joseph would allegedly “cradle [her] with his arms,” the minor said during her interview, but that started to change over time.
The minor claimed that he would then ask her to “sit on the couch beside [him]” and “cover the parties with a blanket,” according to the affidavit.
“Once the parties were covered, the defendant would pull the victim’s dress up and touch the victim’s thighs,” Deputy Sheriff Darrell Norris of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office wrote in the affidavit.
While this was happening, the young girl said that “[Joseph’s] hand grazed [her] vagina” and his “hand was outside of her underwear,” according to the affidavit.
Joseph Duggar’s mugshot
Credit: Washington County Sheriff’s Department
This occurred “several times,” according to the accuser, who described feeling “uncomfortable” and “confused.”
According to the affidavit, on March 17 of this year, nearly six years after Joseph apologized to the minor and the incidents stopped, the girl’s father then approached him.
The father told police that Joseph had allegedly confessed, at which time the investigation began that resulted in him being charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior.
He is currently awaiting trial at home in Arkansas after posting a $600,000 bond and is facing a possible life sentence if convicted on both counts.
Joseph and Kendra are also trying to sell one of their homes, and recently dropped the price of the property after failing to attract a buyer.
Amy told Fraser on her podcast that between Josh’s conviction of federal sex offense charges and Joseph’s upcoming trial it is “a nightmare that does not end.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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