Jinger Duggar Vuolo and her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, finally spoke out about her brother Joseph Duggar’s child molestation arrest.
“This was devastating news to hear,” Jeremy said on Wednesday’s episode of the couple’s podcast, noting that “it’s been a really difficult week” for the pair.
Jinger, 32, added, “It’s been one of those weeks that feels like years. And I did not think my heart could break like it has this week.”
“The pain and heartbreak that we’ve had over this and just thinking of how it’s affected so many, yeah, it’s just unthinkable,” the former “Counting On” star continued. “So hard and painful on many levels.”
Jeremy, who has been married to Jinger since 2016, said that the couple is “thinking about the victim who was brave enough” to come forward with the allegations against Joseph, 31.
“Just the effect on that young person’s life is unimaginable,” the dad of three went on. “And then to see the ripple effect of that horrific crime across the board … I think that’s been for me, the forefront of my mind is just thinking [about] the horror of a crime like that affecting so many for so many years.”
Jeremy added, “Where do we go from here? We are praying for the victim. We are praying for all of those affected.”
Jinger then brought up her brother Josh, who was previously accused of molesting minors, including sisters Jill and Jessa, and is now in jail for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
“You can’t be prepared for news like this — even though we’ve experienced something very similar before with one of my other siblings who made unthinkable choices and decisions that have affected all of us,” she said.
“And yet,” Jinger added, “the pain and hurt that’s caused to us … it’s hard to know what to do sometimes, moving forward. You just feel the weight of it.”
Joseph was arrested on March 18 and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving a victim younger than the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior toward a victim aged 18 or older.
The former reality star was accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl in Florida in 2020, per the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
The now-14-year-old claimed Joseph asked her to sit next to him on a couch before covering them up with a blanket and touching her privates. Joseph allegedly rubbed his hands on her thighs as well.
Joseph confessed to the crime when confronted by the victim’s father, officials said.
After Joseph’s arrest, he and his wife, Kendra, were charged with endangering a minor and false imprisonment after police conducted a home study and found several suspicious locks in their house.
Kendra, who shares four children with Joseph, was arrested on Friday and taken to the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
She was released a few hours after her arrest after posting a $1,470 bond.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source pagesix.com ’
