Jill Duggar Dillard's family has released a statement following her brother Joseph Duggar's arrest on child molestation charges
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"We are shocked and heartbroken... we strongly condemn abuse," the family wrote in a blog post shared on Thursday, March 19
The charges against Joseph stem from an alleged incident that occurred involving a 9-year-old girl in 2020
Jill Duggar Dillard's family is speaking out following her brotherJoseph Duggar's arrest.
On Wednesday, March 18, that Joseph, 31, had been charged with two counts of child sex abuse, according to theBay County Sheriff's Office, in connection with a 2020 incident involving a then-9-year-old girl who was on vacation with her family in Panama City Beach, Fla.
On Thursday, March 19, Jill and her family then addressed the accusations in a post on theDillard Family blog, writing, "We were shocked yesterday evening to learn of Jill's brother (Joseph Duggar's) arrest."
Jill's family's post added, "We first learned of anything related to his charges yesterday via a text from a friend who messaged us about the recent media reports of Joseph's arrest and his alleged confession to molesting a juvenile female in 2020. We are shocked and heartbroken."
The message continued, "We strongly condemn abuse. We support the rule of law and hope that justice will be achieved. Our hearts go out to the innocent juvenile victim of this unspeakable crime and her family," adding, "We pray God gives her strength, comfort and hope, and that she is able to get all the help and support she needs and deserves in the days ahead."
The family also mentionedJoseph's wife, Kendra, in the statement, andthe four kids that they share together.
The Dillard family blog post said, "We love our sister-in-law, Kendra, and our four nieces and nephews and pray that they feel loved and supported during this time as we cannot imagine the indescribable pain they feel as they process and grieve everything," concluding with lines from two Bible verses.
Mother of three Jill — whowedDerick Dillardin June 2014 — also posted the statement onInstagram, alongside a broken heart emoji.
TheDuggar familyappeared at the center of TLC's19 Kids and Countingfrom 2008 through 2015.
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On Wednesday, the Bay County Sheriff's Office announced that former reality star Joseph had been booked into the Washington County, Ark., jail 3:59 p.m. local time, PEOPLE confirmed, and was awaiting extradition to Bay County to face his charges.
The alleged sexual abuse, per authorities, occurred when Joseph allegedly asked the victim to sit on his lap. He then "also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket" as the vacation continued, per the BCSO. "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 BCSO wrote on Facebook.
"The victim stated Duggar eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology," the office continued.
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The victim, now 14, participated in a forensic interview regarding a report of past sexual abuse and her father confronted Joseph about the incidents, when Joseph "allegedly admitted his actions to the father and Tontitown detectives," per authorities.
Joseph is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, March 20, per jail records viewed by PEOPLE.
Joseph's brother, Josh, has had ongoing legal troubles of his own. The older sibling, 38, previously confessed in 2015 tomolesting multiple young girls, including sisters Jill andJessa (Duggar) Seewald, as a teenager. The disgraced TV personality, who shares seven children with wifeAnna Duggar, also admitted tousing Ashley Madison to have an extramarital affairbefore announcing he was entering rehab for a pornography addiction.
In May 2019, Josh allegedly used the "dark web and online file-sharing software" to download " child sexual abuse material from the internet multiple times," theDepartment of Justicereported. He wasarrestedin 2021 by homeland security, before being found guilty of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. In May 2022, Josh was sentenced to 12 and a half years and is expected to be released in August 2032.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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