Joseph Duggar’s brother-in-law encouraged him to keep the faith in a jailhouse letter he received while in custody after he was arrested last month on molestation allegations.
Austin Forsyth, 32, the spouse of Joseph’s sister Joy-Anna, told the accused molester, 31, that he needed to lean into religion amid the turbulent time in his life.
‘I want you to know that I love you!’ Forsyth said in the March 25 letter sent through the Washington County Detention Facility in Arkansas and obtained by People.
Forsyth continued, ‘Jesus loves you, and continues to draw you closer to Him … God works despite the sin of man for his good.’
Forsyth told Joseph – who was taken into custody last month in connection with a 2020 incident involving a nine-year-old girl – that he didn’t want to discuss his ‘issues over these communications.’
Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for the family for further comment on the story.
Joseph Duggar’s brother-in-law Austin Forsyth, 32, encouraged him to keep the faith in a jailhouse letter he received after he was arrested last month on molestation allegations
Joseph has pleaded not guilty to a pair of counts of lewd and lascivious behavior and is slated to appear in court May 18; in the letter, which came before Joseph’s release on a $600,000 bond, Forsyth advised Joseph to ‘only be talking to your attorney.’
In the letter, Forsyth said he was ‘praising God’ that he and his wife Joy-Anna ‘started getting closer to’ Joseph and his wife Kendra ‘within the last year and a half.’
Kendra, 27, was arrested March 20 in connection with endangering the welfare of a minor and false imprisonment, later being released on bond.
Forsyth said God ‘knew that Kendra was going to need help,’ saying he and his wife ‘will, and are helping her!’
Joseph replied with gratitude to Forsyth and his sister for their support of Kendra while he sat behind bars.
‘It means the world to have family like you!’ he said. ‘I’m soo [grateful] for all the people that [have] jumped right in and been there to support [her] … love [y’all] so much!’
Joy-Anna, 28, said in a statement on March 25, ‘My heart is with the victim, and I am grieved by the pain and harm caused. I have been a wreck this week and am taking time to process.
‘I have a few pre-filmed commitments that I have to post, but I will be taking some much-needed time with my family. Thank you for your prayers.’
Joe’s wife Kendra, 27, was arrested March 20 in connection with endangering the welfare of a minor and false imprisonment, both in the second degree
Josh Duggar is currently serving a prison sentence in connection with his 2021 conviction for receiving and possessing material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Joseph was arrested in connection with lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12-years-old, authorities with Florida’s Bay County Sheriff’s Office said last month.
The incident involving Joe occurred in 2020 in Panama City Beach, Florida during a vacation, according to authorities.
‘As the vacation continued, he also asked [the victim] to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket,’ officials said. ‘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 Duggar eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology.’
Joseph was also charged with lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older, officials said.
Joseph and Kendra wed in 2017 and are parents to four young children – ages seven, six, five and three.
Joseph’s arrest is not the first time one of the members of the reality TV family have been caught up in a legal situation involving underage sex.
Oldest son Josh’s past molestation of five young girls led to the swift cancellation of the family’s TLC series in 2015.
The letter was sent to Joseph while he was in custody following his arrest on molestation allegations
The show, which began airing in 2008, was centered on Michelle and Jim Bob, the devout Arkansas couple who named all 19 of their children with the first letter J.
Jim Bob and wife Michelle posted a statement on Facebook at the time explaining how they dealt with the initial incident.
‘Back 12 years ago our family went through one of the most difficult times of our lives,’ they said in a May 21, 2015 Facebook post. ‘When Josh was a young teenager, he made some very bad mistakes and we were shocked.
‘We had tried to teach him right from wrong. That dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before.’
Jim Bob and Michelle continued, ‘We pray that as people watch our lives they see that we are not a perfect family. We have challenges and struggles everyday. ‘
Josh, 38, is currently serving a prison sentence in connection with his 2021 conviction for receiving and possessing material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
For those who have been impacted by sexual abuse, text ‘STRENGTH’ to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
Read the full article here
