Amy Duggar King, who is know to be the outspoken cousin of the famous Duggar family, said she is “shocked” but “not surprised” about Joseph Duggar’s arrest for allegedly molesting a 9-year-old girl six years ago.
“In light of the recent allegations involving my cousin, Joseph Duggar, I am sickened, heartbroken and deeply angry,” King said in a Friday statement to People. “My first thoughts are with the victim, a child who deserved to be safe, protected and surrounded by people she could trust. The courage it took for her to come forward, especially after years of carrying something so heavy, cannot be overstated. That bravery deserves to be honored above all else.”
She continued saying she is “utterly shocked,” but “at the same time, I am not surprised that another alleged predator has emerged from this toxic system.”
Joseph Duggar, a 31-year-old former reality star of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” was arrested and charged Wednesday for lewd and lascivious behavior and molestation of a child less than 12 years old.
During a 2020 vacation, Duggar allegedly asked the victim to sit on his lap.
“As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket,” the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs.”
Joseph Duggar’s arrest comes five years after his brother Josh Duggar was convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material. He is serving a 12-year sentence in prison.
King’s original statement to People said she was praying for Joseph Duggar’s wife, Kendra, “as she begins to process this, and for the protection of their children.” However, a few hours later, Kendra Duggar was also arrested on four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, according to a police statement.
On Saturday, King told TMZ that Kendra Duggar’s arrest was a “plot twist no one saw coming.”
“Now that that information has changed and there is more than is coming out and there’s a lot of question marks right now, I’m just going to steer that statement toward the kids because that’s what matters right now,” King told TMZ. “The kids’ safety, the victim and her family and the four children that were in the home. That is where my heart lies.
TLC’s reality show “19 Kids and Counting” showed how the large Duggar family lived, often highlighting their fundamentalist Christian religious beliefs. The family subscribes to Bill Gothard’s Institute in Basic Life Principles, which teaches extreme modesty, courtship over dating and homeschooling. A 2023 docuseries, “Shiny Happy People,” highlighted past sexual harassment claims against Gothard.
King often made appearances on “19 Kids and Counting,” where she was painted as the outlier for doing things differently, like wearing pants instead of skirts.
Since Josh Duggar’s arrest and conviction, King has been outspoken against her family. Since his sentencing, King said, “12 and a half years isn’t enough.”
“I knew him getting the maximum sentence wasn’t going to be the easiest to prove since it’s his first offense in the judge’s eyes — which I hate — but at the same time, he cannot have his computer, he cannot hurt, exploit any more children and when he sees his kids, he has to be supervised,” she said. “And honestly, where he’s going, I feel like the prisoners are just gonna take care of him.”
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