Reality TV star Joseph Duggar and his wife, Kendra, are both facing serious charges of child endangerment and false imprisonment.
Joseph, one of the 19 Duggar siblings in the TLC reality TV show 19 Kids and Counting, is also facing a separate child molestation charge during a vacation in Florida in 2022.
Following these charges, the couple has been facing heat on their Instagram handle, littleduggarfamily, where they regularly post pictures and videos.
Joseph and Kendra Duggar have been married since 2017 and have three children together. They have a massive fan following of over 554,000 people on Instagram.
But their last post, wishing their daughter a ‘Happy 2nd Birthday’, was on 4 November 2021. The couple, as the social media users noted, stopped posting shortly after the Florida child molestation charges against Joseph.
Here's what the netizens are saying: Their followers, already cross with Joseph, were in utter disbelief that Kendra was also facing charges of child endangerment. They slammed the couple in the comments on their posts, especially the ones which featured their children.
Netizens were disgusted by the allegations against the couple, and remarked: “Sickening!!” “Your poor babies.” and “SICK SICK!!!”
“This makes me sick that these Duggar men both had young kids of their own…they can NEVER be trusted with kids again,” a social media user said.
Several users hoped to save the girls from their father and said, “Protect those little girls!!!”
However, after Kendra was also charged, fans really hoped all three kids were somewhere safe. “Wonder who has the kids now???” A user also claimed that Kendra must be complacent with Joseph, allowing child abuse.
“If he would do it to other people's children, he would do it to his own kids while the mother is complacent,” the user said, adding that as a survivor, “I know this to be fact.”
Also Read | Who is Joseph Duggar? All about reality TV star arrested on abuse charges
What are the charges against Joseph Duggar? faces charges of molesting a nine-year-old during a vacation in Florida in 2022, with charges against him including four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, as well as four counts of second-degree false imprisonment.
"The victim reported Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap,” Bay City police said in a statement on Thursday, following Joseph's arrest. “As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket.”
During this time, the police statement said that Duggar had manipulated the victim’s underwear and had grazed her genitals. "Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs," they said, providing some details of the 14-year-old's complaint to the cops.
The victim also reportedly told authorities that Joseph stopped and “eventually apologised for his actions.”
Joseph is currently awaiting extradition to Florida, where his alleged crimes took place, having appeared in court virtually on Friday and waiving his right to an extradition hearing.
What are the charges against Kendra Duggar? 27-year-old Kendra Duggar is wanted for allegedly endangering the welfare of a minor and false imprisonment, which is the intentional, unlawful restraint or confinement of a person against their will within a specific, bounded area, without legal justification.
was arrested on Friday, days after her husband's arrest.