A Third Duggar Is in Trouble With the Law

The legal fallout surrounding former 19 Kids and Counting star Joseph Garrett Duggar has now widened to include his wife. Police in Tontitown, Arkansas, say an arrest warrant was issued on Friday for 27-year-old Kendra Duggar on four counts each of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree false imprisonment, both misdemeanors, per NBC and People. The same misdemeanor counts were also brought against Joseph Duggar, authorities said, in connection with the ongoing case that began with his arrest earlier in the week.

Details of the allegations haven't been released; police cited Arkansas law restricting information in cases involving minors and said no further information would be provided "to protect the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of those involved." Online records show Kendra Duggar was booked just before 5pm on Friday and released a little more than an hour later. It wasn't immediately clear whether she has been formally charged.

Joseph Duggar was arrested Wednesday in Tontitown and is accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl in 2020 while on vacation in Florida, according to the Bay County Sheriff's Office. He faces charges there of molestation of a victim younger than 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior by an adult and is awaiting extradition; as of late Friday, he remained in the Washington County Jail. In an affidavit filed by the Florida sheriff's office and cited by People, Joseph Duggar reportedly admitted to the victim's father in a phone call that "his intentions were not pure" and that he'd "touched the victim over her clothing."

Older sister Jill Duggar Dillard released a family statement saying they were shocked by Joseph's arrest, adding that "our hearts go out to the innocent juvenile victim of this unspeakable crime and her family." TLC canceled 19 Kids and Counting in 2015 after revelations that eldest son Josh Duggar had molested multiple children; he was convicted on federal child sex abuse material charges in 2021 and is serving a 12 1/2-year sentence. His own situation didn't stop him from commenting on his younger brother's legal woes. "Josh understands the stigma of being accused," his lawyer said in a statement to the Daily Mail. "He lives with the painful reality of how false accusations can destroy a life. He understands how the targeting of a person for publicity can twist the truth into sensationalized fiction."