Joseph Duggar reportedly acted out of character along with his household earlier than he was arrested on baby molestation prices.
“Joe and [his wife] Kendra have appeared off and distant from the whole household in latest weeks,” a Duggar household insider instructed the Solar on Friday.
“Everyone seems to be in disbelief,” the insider added. “It’s a really delicate matter with what occurred with Josh a couple of years in the past and so they can not think about reliving that once more – it was very troublesome for the household.”
Joseph, 31, was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with lewd and lascivious habits involving a sufferer youthful than the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious habits towards a sufferer aged 18 or older.
The previous “Counting On” star is at the moment being held at Washington County Jail in Fayetteville, Ark. and is being extradited to Bay County, Fla.
His brother Josh, 38, was additionally accused of molesting minors, together with his sisters, Jill and Jessa Duggar, within the early 2000s, in incidents that got here to mild in 2015.
In December 2021, Josh was convicted on prices of receiving and possessing baby sexual abuse materials. He was sentenced to greater than 12 years in federal jail.
In keeping with the Solar, the opposite Duggar siblings, together with Jinger and her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, are targeted on protecting their youngsters secure following Joseph’s arrest.
“They had been very shut with Joe and Kendra however they haven’t talked to them as a lot throughout the previous yr, solely at household gatherings,” the insider shared concerning the Vuolos.
The supply additionally stated that Jinger, Jeremy and Jessa “solely came upon about this together with everybody else when the information got here out.”
Jill, 34, was the primary Duggar sibling to talk out about Joseph’s arrest, writing in a joint weblog put up together with her husband, Derick Dillard, on Thursday that she was “shocked” by the information.
“We first realized of something associated to his prices yesterday by way of a textual content from a buddy who messaged us concerning the latest media experiences of Joseph’s arrest and his alleged confession to molesting a juvenile feminine in 2020,” the couple stated, emphasizing that they “strongly condemn abuse.”
Additionally they gave “love” to Joseph’s spouse Kendra, 27, and their 4 youngsters.
Josh additionally reacted to Joseph’s arrest in an announcement from his lawyer, who stated the convicted intercourse offender was “deeply saddened” concerning the allegations in opposition to his brother.
The lawyer additionally stated Josh “lives with the painful actuality of how false accusations can destroy a life.”
Joseph was accused by the Bay County Sheriff’s Workplace of molesting a 9-year-old woman in Florida in 2020.
The now-14-year-old claimed Joseph requested her to to take a seat subsequent to him on a sofa earlier than masking them up with a blanket and touching her privates. Joseph allegedly rubbed his arms on her thighs as nicely.
Joseph confessed to the crime when confronted by the sufferer’s father on Tuesday, officers stated.
In the event you or somebody is affected by any of the problems raised on this story, name the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
