Joe Duggar has been arrested
Leaving Eden Podcast
Leaving Eden LLC
4.5 • 744 Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2026
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
n this special episode, we discuss the charges filed against former 19 Kids and Counting/Counting On star Joseph Duggar. Duggar is accused of committing Lewd and Lascivious Behavior, involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor. He has been taken into custody. The alleged molestation occurred some time in 2020. In this episode we discuss everything that we currently know, everything we don't know, the circumstances of the abuse, and then we answer listener questions.
This episode contains discussions of child sexual abuse as well as discussion of Joseph's brother Josh's 2021 trial and conviction for possession of CSAM. This episode is not appropriate for children.
Nowhere in this episode do we speculate about the identity of the victim, and we will not allow comments that do.
Facebook post from Bay County Sheriff's Office
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EoDDDy9qY/
Reddit post with pictures of Joe and Kendra at Panama City Beach dated to October 11
https://www.reddit.com/r/DuggarsSnark/comments/1rxk6ty/my_parents_2020_beach_vacation/
Oxford University article about genetic predisposition to being an abuser
https://www.psych.ox.ac.uk/news/sex-offending-genes-more-important-than-family-environment
02:00 - Joe Duggar has been arrested
02:54 - Welcome to our show
03:10 - CW for CSA and CSAM discussion
04:20 - Consider joining our Patreon!
05:00 - BCSO Facebook Post
06:50 - Poor Kendra
07:53 - What is Joe charged with?
08:36 - What is a Life Felony?
09:46 - Joe's Apology
11:35 - Purity Pledge
12:34 - Will there be a trial?
17:48 - Thank you to our Patrons!
19:17 - What is the timeline?
20:04 - Raid on the Duggar car lot
20:45 - Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar Dillard
22:26 - Holy Disruptor by Amy Duggar King
24:20 - Jim Bob lied to the family
24:55 - Reddit Pictures on the beach
25:30 - Who was in Panama City Beach?
27:40 - Apologies to the victim's father?
28:15 - Homeland Security and US Marshals
31:27 - Kendra was pregnant
31:50 - Why did Joe Apologize?
32:50 - You are your father's property
34:20 - Did Kendra know?
35:12 - Will Kendra stay or go?
35:30 - Sadie's angry rant
37:43 - Question 1: Have we seen signs from Joe? Joe/Kendra age gap
38:54 - Sadie attended the wedding of a child bride
41:15 - Question 2: How does this keep happening in this family?
42:46 - Women are property, like livestock
44:50 - Limiting access and adding accountability prevents abuse
47:07 - Question 3: We know nothing about the victim or their family
48:11 - Question 4: Did this follow the same pattern as Josh's cover-up?
49:40 - Questions 5 and 6, Social media and Can Kendra Leave because Joe admitted his crime?
52:01 - Question 7: Purity Culture
52:42 - Question 8: Will this change fundie culture?
54:14 - Question 9: Genetics and Grandpa Duggar
55:35 - If there is a trial we will cover it!
Subscribe to Leaving Eden Podcast on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ4q94gAnsoW2jME4SvVrrQ
Join our Patreon for extended, uncensored, and ad-free versions of most of our episodes, as well as other patron perks and bonus content!
https://www.patreon.com/LeavingEdenPodcast
Join our Facebook group to join in the discussion with other fans!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/edenexodus
Join our subreddit! Reddit.com/r/EdenExodus
Bluesky:
@leavingedenpodcast.bsky.social
@hellyeahsadie.bsky.social
@gavihacohen.bsky.social
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenpodcast/
https://www.instagram.com/sadiecarpentermusic/
https://www.instagram.com/gavrielhacohen/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | No rolling river of time. |
| 0:08.0 | You've healed me in too many days. |
| 0:15.0 | No regrets, no confusion. |
| 0:18.0 | There'll be no pollution. I'm so thankful i've decided to change my ways |
| 0:29.1 | welcome into the leaving eden podcast welcome welcome welcome welcome in this is an episode that we |
| 0:35.3 | wish we didn't have to make joseph dougar the seventh child of Jim Bob and Michelle Dugger, has been arrested in a child sexual abuse case. |
| 0:44.0 | Joe Dugger is 31 years old. |
| 0:46.0 | He starred on 19 kids and counting in all of its iterations as well as the sequel show counting on after it came to like that his oldest brother Josh had molested |
| 0:55.3 | several of his sisters as well as another unrelated person when he was a young teenager |
| 0:59.5 | and that the family had covered it up. He is the second of the Dugger children to be |
| 1:04.4 | criminally implicated in a child sexual abuse scandal following Josh's arrest in 2021 for |
| 1:10.7 | possession of child sexual abuse materials. |
| 1:13.1 | Joe Dugger, he married Kendra Dugger in 2017. |
| 1:16.0 | They have four children together, the oldest of which is seven years old, and the youngest of which is three years old. |
| 1:21.7 | That's what we're talking about today. |
| 1:23.3 | Sadie Carpenter is here. |
| 1:24.2 | She grew up. |
| 1:24.9 | Fundy. |
| 1:25.3 | My name's Gavi, if you're not familiar with this show, we talk about religion, cults, fundamentalism, things related to those things on this podcast. So give us a follow. Give us a subscribe if you're interested in that kind of stuff. We really try to do a good job. And before we get into the episode, I want a TW for discussion of child sexual abuse. I will be reading a police report, which has some of the details in it. And we will also be talking about Josh Dugger's trial. And his assorted crimes. Yeah. And I'm unpicking embroidery because that's a good anger management task. If you want to see what I'm looking at when I'm not looking at the camera, I'm going to post it on our Patreon. |
| 2:03.7 | Yeah, maybe a little bit of, that's a little bit like eye bleach. |
| 2:04.5 | Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right now I'm like tearing out something that I didn't, that I did that I didn't like, and that's cathartic. Yeah, I bet. I'm imagining it's Joe Duggers. I can't say that on camera. Well, what he did was Corolla and Unusual, so... |
| 2:16.3 | It's not unusual if you're in the IBLP. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Leaving Eden LLC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Leaving Eden LLC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.