'It broke my heart’: Joseph Duggar slammed brother Josh’s scandal years before his own arrest
TONTITOWN, ARKANSAS: A resurfaced 2015 clip of Joseph Duggar is drawing fresh attention following his recent arrest over alleged unlawful conduct involving a child.
In the clip from 'Jill & Jessa: Counting On', Joseph, now 31, said he never saw his older brother Josh Duggar’s “secret life” coming. He was commenting about Josh’s fall from grace following the Ashley Madison cheating scandal that rocked the family a decade ago.
Joseph Duggar claimed his brother's betrayal 'broke' his heart
More than 10 years ago, Josh, now 37, was revealed to have had an account on Ashley Madison (the infamous dating site), while he was still married to his wife, Anna. Josh and Anna married in 2008 and share seven children.
Reacting to the scandal at the time, a 20-year-old Joseph said "it broke my heart."
“I don't think there's any way any of us would have known that my brother was living such a secret life,” he was heard saying in the clip.
“Whenever somebody you respect the most is willing to get up and proclaim what we believe as Christians, about being true to your wife, you’d never think that that’s the person who’s involved in it.”
That same year, even more damaging allegations involving Josh came to light. In 2015, reports surfaced alleging Josh's inappropriate contact, including some of his sisters, between 2000 and 2004, when he was a teenager.
Years later, Josh’s legal troubles worsened. The former reality TV star was arrested in April 2021 and charged with possession of prohibited material.
By the end of that year, he was found guilty and later sentenced to 12.5 years in prison.
He is currently serving his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Seagoville in Texas.
Joseph Duggar's arrest
Now the old footage of Joseph lamenting Josh’s conduct is being viewed through a very different lens.
On Wednesday, March 18, Joseph was arrested over an alleged “unlawful" activity said to have taken place in 2020 during a vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida.
According to the press release related to his arrest, “Bay County investigators were contacted by a detective with the Tontitown Police Department" regarding a report of past abuse.
The release added, “The victim participated in a forensic interview, where she disclosed several incidents involving Duggar that occurred during a family vacation in Panama City Beach.”
According to a report, the victim claimed that following the incident, Joseph “apologized.”
The matter was only recently brought to authorities, with the victim’s father informing investigators about the alleged incident this month.
Joseph was "arrested out of state" and charged. The girl’s father confronted Duggar about the crimes on Tuesday, March 17, the sheriff’s office said, adding that Joseph admitted what he had done to him and police.
He is currently awaiting extradition to Bay County.
Joseph married his wife, Kendra, in 2017. The couple shares at least three children and is rumored to have welcomed a fourth.
