A star of the TLC series “19 Kids and Counting” is facing child molestation allegations from an alleged incident in 2020.
Joseph Duggar, 31, is accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl in Florida six years ago, The New York Times reported.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office said Duggar repeatedly engaged in “unlawful sexual activity” with the child in Panama City Beach.
The girl is now 14 and reported the alleged assault to police in Tontitown, Arkansas, officers said in a statement posted to Facebook.
The department alerted the sheriff in Florida, who issued an arrest warrant for Duggar.
The girl told police that Duggar “eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology,” the sheriff said in a statement, also posted to Facebook.
Duggar was charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older, the sheriff’s office said.
The agency said the girl’s father confronted Duggar on March 17, and he admitted to what allegedly happened with the girl to not only the father but also detectives from Tontitown, the sheriff said.
Duggar starred with his 18 other brothers and sisters in the reality television series “19 Kids and Counting,” which followed Jim Bob Duggar and his wife Michelle and their large family. It ran for more than 200 episodes over 10 seasons.
People magazine reported he was held in Washington County, Arkansas, as he awaited extradition to Florida.
The show was removed from the lineup when Joseph Duggar’s oldest brother, Josh, was accused of molesting several girls when he was a teen.
No charges were filed in that case, but their parents said that four of the five girls Josh Duggar had molested were his sisters, the family told Fox News in 2015.
He was then sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after downloading child sex abuse photos and videos. Prosecutors said he had downloaded about 600 files, The New York Times reported, citing his sentencing memorandum. He was found guilty of a count of receiving child pornography and a count of possession of child pornography, but a judge vacated the latter.
The Duggar family did not respond to a request for comment from The New York Times.
Neither the family nor TLC responded to a similar request by NBC News.
©2026 Cox Media Group
