Joseph Dugar’s Chilling phone conversations with the victim’s father have been revealed. The former reality star, who was arrested and charged this week, admitted to molesting the 9-year-old and even said his “intentions were not pure,” according to an affidavit filed by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and obtained by PEOPLE.
Dugger was arrested Thursday in Tondetown, Arkansas. Authorities in Bay County, Florida, have 30 days to transfer him from jail in Washington County, Arkansas, after a court approves the extradition request. The 31-year-old man is accused of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under 12 years old, according to an arrest affidavit.
Authorities also detained his wife, Kendra Duggar. She faces the same charges. The 27-year-old man has been released on bail.
chilling phone call
BCSO criminal investigator Chase Norris said in his affidavit that Joseph “admitted to his actions” and said “he touched the victim through her clothing,” People reported. Joseph also “admitted that his intentions were not pure.”
He admitted this in a recorded phone call on March 17, 2026, at Norris’s request. A detective with the Tondetown Police Department told Norris that Joseph had confessed to the girl’s father. Norris then “asked detectives and the victim’s father to call the defendant.” Once the former reality star went online, she made an incriminating statement.
Read more: Kendra Duggar arrest dispute: Joseph seen joking with deputy, wife relieved in new booking video
“Hold her in your arms”
The affidavit is largely based on a forensic interview with the 14-year-old victim at the Tontitown Police Department. She described multiple incidents at the holiday home where Joseph repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap and “put her arms around the victim.” He later “sat the victim on the couch next to him,” covered them with a blanket, then “pulled the victim’s clothes up and touched the victim’s thighs.”
The victim told the interviewer that Joseph “would touch the top of her thighs and go higher and higher, closer to the victim’s waistline.” She said “the defendant’s hand grazed the victim’s vagina multiple times,” leaving her “uncomfortable and confused.”
The incident stopped after Joseph “eventually located the victim and apologized for his actions,” the affidavit states.
Josh Duggar Charges
Joseph is not the only Dugger to face child sex abuse charges. In 2021, his 38-year-old brother Josh Duggar was federally convicted of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material and is currently serving a 12-year sentence in Texas.
Joseph and his wife, Kendra Duggar, were also charged Friday with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and false imprisonment in connection with the same case.
Joseph, who has appeared several times on the Duggar family’s TLC reality show, has been married to Kendra since 2017. They have four children; their 2017 wedding was featured on Counting On.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit rainn.org. If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual abuse, call the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 and text “STRENGTH” to be connected with a certified crisis counselor.
