TONTITOWN, ARKANSAS — Joseph Garrett Duggar was arrested on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, by police in Tontitown, Arkansas. He was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor.

According to the Bay County Sheriff's Office, Duggar was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior — molestation of a victim less than 12 years old — and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older. The alleged incidents took place during a family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2020, when the victim was nine years old.

A 14-year-old girl contacted police on Wednesday to report incidents from 2020 in which Joseph Duggar allegedly touched her inappropriately. During the 2020 vacation, he repeatedly asked the girl to sit on his lap, asked her to sit next to him on a couch under a blanket, and touched her genitals, underwear, and thighs. The girl said the incidents stopped after Joseph Duggar apologized.

On Tuesday, March 17, 2026, the girl's father confronted Joseph Duggar about the incidents, and Joseph Duggar admitted his actions to the father and to Tontitown police. According to Tontitown police, they received an arrest warrant from the Bay County Sheriff's Office at 3 p.m. on Wednesday for Joseph Duggar's arrest. He is awaiting extradition to Bay County, Florida.

Joseph Garrett Duggar is 31 years old and appeared on a reality television show. Joseph Duggar has several children with his wife, Kendra Duggar.

The reality show aired from 2008 to 2015 and was canceled in 2015 after molestation allegations emerged against Josh Duggar. Joseph Duggar's older brother, Josh Duggar, was accused of molesting five children, including four of his sisters. Josh Duggar was sentenced to 12½ years in federal prison in 2022 for receiving and possessing child sex abuse images.