Joseph Duggar received plenty of support during his two-week stay at the Washington County Jail in Arkansas, with several of the Duggars sending him encouraging emails, including his father Jim Bob.
In an email sent to Joe from Jim Bob on March 25, the 19 Kids & Counting patriarch acknowledged that Joe is probably going to have to face “major consequences” for his actions— which allegedly include molesting a nine-year-old girl in Florida in 2020.
In the email (which was obtained via FOIA by YouTuber @LillyArchive), Jim Bob tells his (second) jailbird son that he’s “so sorry for what you’re going through” and that “Mom and I love you very much.
“Looks like you have a long road ahead of you but God will get you through. You have made some terrible decisions but God has already forgiven you, if you have asked him.”
Jim Bob goes on to tell Joe that all of the Dugs have come together to help and support Joe’s wife Kendra— something Kendra herself told Joe during a jail phone call. (You can listen to the audio of that call here.)
Jim Bob also expressed how angry he is that Kendra was arrested last month. (As The Ashley previously reported, Kendra was charged in Arkansas with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and false imprisonment. Joe received the same charges as Kendra but was already in jail at the time. The Arkansas charges are reportedly not related to Joe’s child molestation charges in Florida.)
“It is ridiculous that they charged Kendra and arrested her,” Jim Bob writes. “We’ve hired [a lawyer] to help Kendra. We are praying that we can get her charges dropped…”
As a condition of her release from jail, Kendra is not allowed around the victims of her alleged crimes, whom Kendra revealed in a jail phone call are their four kids. She and Joe are barred from contacting the kids in any way until their court date in Arkansas on April 29.
Jim Bob assures Joe that all of his brothers are stepping up to help Kendra, before breaking it down to his son that his (alleged) actions are going to mean he’ll probably spend a decent time behind bars.
“You are just going to have to accept the situation at this point and it’s also fine to pray that God would have mercy on you, but you’re probably gonna face a major consequences for several years to come,” Jim Bob wrote. “I pray that God will bring other Christians into your life to encourage you and that you can also point people to Christ even through the time you’re in jail and prison. God will be with you! He will get you and your family through!”
Jim Bob goes on to talk about how, in the Bible, David “royally messed up” but that he “repented and became a man after God’s own heart.” He also advised Joseph to take after his Bible namesake whom Jim Bob reminds Joe was “also in prison” and can “make lemonade out of lemons.”
“I love you and we’ll be praying for you. Don’t give up,” he wrote. “God is not finished with your life.”
As of Tuesday, Joe was out of jail and likely back in Arkansas. A judge in Florida set Joe’s bond at $600,000 and Jim Bob paid the necessary portion to spring his son from the big house. Joe is due back in court in Florida on April 20.
You can listen to some of Joe and Kendra’s jail phone calls below!
@theashleysrealityroundup JAIL CALL AUDIO: Kendra Duggar Tells Jailbird Husband Joe She Can’t Eat Following His Arrest; Says the Duggar Family Still Loves Him But is “Disappointed” In Him For full details go to: https://www.theashleysrealityroundup.com/2026/03/31/more-jail-phone-call-audio-kendra-duggar-says-she-cant-eat-tells-him-the-duggars-are-disappointed-in-him/ #fypp #fypシ #fypage #RealityTV #theashleysrealityroundup #fypシ゚viral #Theashley #FYPp #FYPpage #FYP #Duggars #Duggar #duggarfamily #josephduggar #KendraDuggar #DuggarNews #DuggarTok #duggardrama #JoeDuggar #MichelleDuggar #CountingOn #19kidsandcounting ♬ original sound – The Ashley’s Reality Roundup
34 Responses
Not a word about asking forgiveness from his victim and his victim’s family and pleading guilty to spare the child further trauma by having to testify against her abuser.
These people are seriously godless
I believe in the first article it stated that Joe had begun to feel convicted in his heart. Because of that, he apologized to the little girl and never did it again. That’s what I read anyway.
Brenda it should never have happened, Joe changed that little girls life forever the moment he made the choice to use her for his own selfish gratification. He needs to pay the price for his crime and being sorry doesn’t change a thing.
You read it entirely wrong, try again after you brush up on your comprehension skills.
He “apologized” after he already knew the jig was up,he was caught, authorities had been called and he was confronted by his victim’s father. This was also after doing it more than one time (as if the number of incidents matters here).
Like his brother, he didn’t “feel conflicted” until he got in trouble.
He’s still a sick predator and likely has other victims. While he is a bit more honest than his older brother, he still harmed an innocent little girl, physically and psychologically.
Let’s hope he admits to his crimes and doesn’t drag it out in a trial – the victim would most likely have to testify, which would be traumatizing for her.
What’s with his hair? Is that supposed to be bangs? He looks nuts
Unfortunate hairline.
I guess they all skipped over the part in the Bible where Jesus says that, for anyone who harms a child, it would be better that they have a millstone tied around their neck and thrown into the sea? In Matthew 18, Jesus emphasized that protecting children is crucial, as they are cherished, and mistreating them is regarded as harming God directly.
“It’s ridiculous that they charged Kendra with the same things we did to our kids” 🙄
From some previous phone calls, Kendra stated that their children would be a priority over Joe – which is a step up from Anna.
Let’s hope she sticks to it, and leaves Joe, though I think it would be difficult for her to escape, since JB and Michelle financially support her and Joe, and have for years.
I just hope their four children are able to get through this unscarred.
We all know that the “terrible decisions” that Jim Bob is referring to are Joe’s decision to admit his crime to the victim’s father and law enforcement.
Exactly. And “I’m so sorry about what you’re going through” is so tone deaf, since Joe made an evil decision to harm an innocent child, and is now facing consequences of his own actions.
But this is Jim Bob, who lied under oath about Josh abusing young girls, has never held Josh accountable, and has harassed some of Josh’s victims.
I sincerely pray Jim Bob goes to jail for something. He has committed financial fraud and covered up abuse in his own home. Also a creep…
I’m not religious but even I know God won’t forgive you for this.
It’s bothersome the way JimBob is making this out to be just a mistake that Joe made. Sexually abusing a child isn’t just a mistake!! It’s life changing for that child. She will live with this forever! Joe should also face lifelong consequences.
At some point, this country needs to have a reformation on sexual assault, especially the sexual abuse of children. It’s going to have to start in the church. Sexual abuse of women and children is rampant in the church spanning multiple denominations and religions. It’s because of people like JimBob who treat it as if it’s just a stumble to be forgiven and not an evil act and abuse of power.
Yesss! Child molesters/r@pists are NOT people who can be rehabilitated. They are sick and dangerous and don’t deserve a second chance!
Yeah I grew up Baptist and still sometimes attend a larger church; I knew a few large homeschool families who had a “Josh” and the younger siblings never received therapy (incestuous abuse between children in large families is unfortunately common, according to some medical journals and articles I’ve read). This led to many issues that reared up as they grew older (insomnia, paranoia, panic attacks, anxiety, etc.).
When the original Josh crimes were revealed in 2015, it kind of was a landmark where people in the church started discussing a formerly taboo topic – incestuous abuse and child sex abuse.
More people now have a better understanding of generational incest, grooming, the need for boundaries/discussion of appropriate behavior between child siblings, and the need for child victims to receive therapy so they don’t eventually become predators themselves (which is likely what happened between Grandpa Duggar, Josh and Joseph).
When children are raised in a closed or sheltered environment, they only know what their parents teach them. The Duggar children clearly had a skewed perception of sex (as seen on the show multiple times), and in addition to the sex abuse within the house, led to the situation with Josh and Joe.
There are likely more predators- and victims – within the Duggar siblings.
It is creepy af how all these Duggar pdfs smile in their mug shots.
My ex husband locked my four year old in a room and cps didn’t even care so it pisses me off that this is such a big deal for her but sometimes nobody really cares… yeah it pisses me off cause I promise my ex is more abusive than she is
I’m so sorry about your son… That is awful. Honestly, CPS is a crock and they hurt/harm and flat out fail, more than they help.
Why do you post this on every single story about them.
Yeah it should piss you off that no one cared in your case, absolutely. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t care in any case. Joe is a rapist, an admitted pedophile. If you can’t understand why them locking children in rooms in a home where their own family member is a pedophile is a big deal, you have some screws loose. Obviously it’s a big deal when he has ADMITTED to harming children. Ffs
You should re-read what she said…she wasn’t excusing locking children in rooms at all. And yes, CPS is terrible depending on the state. They don’t remove children who are being neglected and abused, but then overstep over small issues all the time.
No jimBlob god will not forgive your p🚪🚪 sons.
Not one mention of the poor victim/victims.
What a twll din he is.
How many more predators have you and your douche wife dragged up?
How dare you use your bs religion to justify something so horrid.
I’m not religious myself, because I believe they are all cults to hide abuse and deceit.
I hope those children of his nonce sons are removed and neither family allowed any access or contact ever again.
Both kendra and Anna are worse for standing by these scum of the earth men.
My thoughts are with the victims/survivors, and that includes those who have been harmed and traumatised by other filthy barstuards worldwide.
I hope he never gets moments peace or his dimwit wife.
Such a evil person, just like his daddy and his nonce sons.
I almost had a stroke trying to decipher what you were saying…
OMG!! I am seriously going to puke after reading Jim-knobs words to his perverted son! “God has already forgiven you.” Oh please!! Who the hell says shit like that to a child molester? Notice how there isn’t a single word about how he should be “praying” for the victim? Jim-knob really doesn’t see the truth here at all about EITHER of his mentally fucked-up sons! I can’t decide who I hate more, The Duggars or Jenelle and the walking venereal disease, dog killer, child abuser, David!
He equates a story about some dude making lemonade to CSA. What a sick f.
Of course that boob and his gross brain washed wife are supporting the pedophile i just can’t believe he wrote that bullshit knowing it would be made public , saying he is so sorry for what he’s going through…give me a fucking break jim boob you are disgusting
Isn’t it awfully convenient that according to JB, all you have to do is ask and you’re “forgiven by god”. No repentance, no shame, no guilt, just a shiny new clean slate. It’s the best deal: commit atrocities against innocent CHILDREN, pray for forgiveness, rinse and repeat. Soulless ghouls.
Yeah pretty sure Jim Bob doesn’t know what God has forgiven, and if I had to guess – he won’t forgive crimes against children.
God doesn’t in any way condone or forgive pedophilia, rape, molestation or the harming of children for one’s own enjoyment.
Are we really surprised this boob and his wife are supporting him? They (their family really, since none of them have actually *really* spoken out against it) support most things god condemns. At least, when they’re the ones,or people they know are, doing it.
I think the Ashley needs to do a story about all of the reality stars that have been arrested and did time in prison. I think there is definitely a pattern here. Also it’s a good thing that JB hoarded all of those checks from TLC so he can bail his kids out of jail and hire all of those expensive lawyers.