Josh Duggar is desperately fighting to appeal his 12-year child pornography sentence — as his younger brother Joseph Duggar has been accused of unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
After a series of failed appeals, Josh — whose release date from FCI Seagoville in Dallas, Texas, is Dec. 23, 2032 — requested the court provide him with a new legal team in a May 2025 filing.
Josh claimed he lacks the resources, legal training and funds to hire lawyers, according to court documents.
While the former “19 Kids and Counting” star’s request was denied by the federal judge on the case, Josh was ultimately able to hire a Chicago-based attorney, according to court papers obtained by Page Six.
Page Six can confirm Josh, 38, has a hearing in the case set for April 15 in Fayetteville, Ark.
The father of seven has maintained his innocence since he was arrested and charged with possessing and receiving child pornography in April 2021.
After a two-week trial in Arkansas — where family members from dad Jim Bob Duggar to wife Anna Duggar attended — he was found guilty and was later sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison.
Josh filed to appeal the sentence in October 2022, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his request for a new trial.
His then-lawyer argued federal agents reportedly seized his phone when he tried to contact his attorney during a raid a year and a half before his arrest. The attorney also claimed Josh spoke to the agents without his counsel present.
The court denied the appeal, explaining their decision in court papers, “When Duggar signed a form acknowledging his rights, he had the agents ‘scratch . . . out’ the portion saying that he was being ‘taken into custody.’ Modifying the form made it clear he was free to leave.
“Duggar sat in the front passenger seat of the agents’ truck during the interview. They ‘did not handcuff him, the doors remained unlocked, and he entered and exited the front seat of the vehicle on his own,’ which means he retained freedom of movement throughout the encounter.”
“Finally, Duggar was not ‘arrest[ed] at the termination of the questioning.’ To the contrary, he ended the interview on his own and then left the dealership—hardly an option available to someone in custody.”
The Supreme Court then officially denied the appeal in June 2024.
Disgrace to the Duggar family hit again on March 18 when the Bay County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on Joseph’s arrest Wednesday.
The statement read Joseph has been arrested 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 statement read, “On March 18, 2026, Bay County investigators were contacted by a detective with the Tontitown Police Department regarding a report of past sexual abuse. The 14-year-old victim participated in a forensic interview, where she disclosed several incidents involving Duggar that occurred during a family vacation in Panama City Beach when she was 9-years-old.
“According to the investigation, the incidents took place in 2020… The victim reported Duggar repeatedly asked her 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. During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs.”
The victim stated that Joseph eventually apologized and the incidents stopped.
The statement continued, “Investigators discovered the victim’s father confronted Duggar about these incidents on March 17th, 2026. Duggar admitted his actions to the victim’s father and to Tontitown Detectives.”
Joseph was booked in the Washington County Jail in Arkansas Wednesday. He is being extradited to Bay County in Florida.
Joseph is married to Kendra Caldwell and the couple shares three young children. They have lived primarily out of the spotlight, as they haven’t posted on social media since 2021.
He appeared on both TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” and “Counting On.”
