Joseph Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting accused of molesting child

Joseph Duggar, whose family starred on the reality television show 19 Kids and Counting on channel TLC, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl.

The Bay County Sheriff's Office in Arkansas said Duggar, 31, was charged with lewd and lascivious behaviour involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor.

On Wednesday, a 14-year-old contacted police about several incidents involving Duggar during a 2020 family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, when she was nine-years-old, police said.

He was arrested by police in Tontitown, Arkansas, and will be extradited to Bay County, Florida, officials said.

Duggar's older brother, Josh Duggar, was accused of molesting five children, including four of his sisters. He has been serving a 12-year prison sentence since 2022 for receiving and possessing child sex abuse images.

The family rose to fame on their reality television show, which documented the lives of their parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, raising 19 children, whose names all begin with the letter J.

The sheriff's office said the victim accused Duggar of repeatedly asking her to sit on his lap, and touching her thighs, underwear and genitals while sitting on the couch during the vacation.

The victim said Duggar apologized for the behaviour and stopped after the apology, the sheriff's office said.

Police added that the victim's father confronted Duggar about the incidents the day before his arrest, and Duggar admitted his actions to the father and to police in Tontitown.

Duggar appeared in the show 19 Kids and Counting from 2008 to 2015, when the show was axed after molestation allegations surfaced against Josh Duggar when he was a teen.

Joseph Duggar has several children with his wife, Kendra Duggar.