Joy-Anna Duggar spoke out on her brother Josep Duggar’s “deeply disturbing” child molestation arrest, while their brother Jeremiah Duggar ignored the scandal in his social media return.
The 28-year-old influencer called “what has come out about [her sibling] heartbreaking and deeply disturbing” in an Instagram Story statement Thursday.
“My heart is with the victim, and I am grieved by the pain and harm caused,” Joy-Anna continued. “I have been a wreck this week and am taking time to process.”
The “Counting On” alum shared her plans to take “some much-needed time” with her family away from social media in light of the situation, clarifying she does have “a few pre-filmed commitments” to post.
“Thank you for your prayers,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, Jeremiah was all smiles in the Instagram carousel he posted that same day celebrating his and his wife Hannah Duggar’s fourth wedding anniversary.
“It’s officially been four years since we tied the knot,” the 27-year-old wrote in the lengthy caption. “My love for you is deeper now than ever before.
“You are the most incredible wife, and I am so grateful our girls can look up to you as the ultimate role model in their life,” he added. “Happy four year anniversary Hannah!”
Jeremiah, notably, limited comments on the upload.
It has been more than one week since Joseph was arrested and booked at the Washington County jail in Arkansas on March 18.
He reportedly confessed to “several incidents of sexual abuse” via phone call to the alleged victim’s father the previous day.
Since the alleged molestation took place during a 2020 Florida trip, the “19 Kids and Counting” alum will eventually be extradited to Bay County, Fla.
His wife, Kendra Caldwell, was arrested on March 20 and charged with four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment after police did a home study and found suspicious locks.
Joseph was charged with the same, in addition to his initial charges of lewd and lascivious behavior involving a victim younger than the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 or older.
The couple share son Garrett, 7, and daughters Addison, 6, and Brooklyn Praise, 5, as well as a fourth child whose name they have yet to reveal.
Sickening details of Joseph’s alleged sexual abuse were revealed by the teen victim, who was 9 years old at the time, in a forensic interview.
According to a copy of an affidavit obtained by Page Six, the now-14-year-old claimed Joseph’s hand “grazed [her] vagina … outside of her underwear” while he covered them both with a blanket and touched her thighs.
The teen also purported that Joseph, who allegedly repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap, later apologized.
While many of Joseph’s relatives have publicly denounced him, his brother Josh Duggar — who is currently serving time for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material — defended Joseph and slammed the “false accusations.”
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