Rediscovered footage shows Joe Duggar on vacation in Panama City Beach, two years before he allegedly sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl in the same town, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The video has resurfaced after involving a victim under 12, as well as lewd behavior toward an adult, according to the Bay County Sheriff's Office.
Duggar, a former '19 Kids and Counting' star appeared bedraggled and unshaven in a booking photo on Wednesday as he was taken into custody in Washington County, .
The father-of-three can be seen in the footage laughing and playing with baby Garrett in 2018, taken by TLC for their 'Counting On' spin off show.
Both he and his wife Kendra, 27, went on the trip with her mother Christina, 46, who was pregnant at the time with her eighth child, Isaiah, now seven.
Duggar can be seen laughing and smiling while playing with his then three-month-old son, and interacting with Kendra's younger siblings.
Joe Duggar is seen smiling, playing with his infant son during a family trip to Panama City Beach in 2018 that aired on an episode of Counting On
Joe Duggar was arrested on Wednesday in connection with allegations that he touched a nine-year-old girl on her underwear and genitals; he's pictured in his mugshot after the arrest
The family appear to favor Panama City Beach for their vacations, returning in 2020 when the crimes Duggar now faces allegedly took place.
The father-of-four's alleged victim, now 14, told officers she was just nine when she claims Duggar abused her during a getaway in Panama City Beach – part of what is derisively known as the Redneck Riviera – in 2020.
Duggar's mugshot was released on Wednesday evening by the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The former reality star, who has been married to Kendra since September 2017, sported a thick beard, and he gazed forward with a stony expression, which notably contrasted the grinning 2021 mugshot of his brother Josh, which had also been snapped in Washington County.
Joe Duggar's alleged victim told investigators that the family had been staying at a home on Danny Drive at the time.
Duggar 'repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap', BCSO officials said, adding that his behavior appeared to escalate as the vacation continued.
Duggar and his family were regulars on reality television for years, first appearing on 19 Kids and Counting before its spinoff, Counting On
The footage was filmed two years before the alleged incidents took place. Duggar can be seen laughing and smiling while playing with his then three-month-old son, and interacting with Kendra's younger siblings
The family appeared to favor Panama City Beach as a vacation destination, seemingly returning in 2020 when the alleged assault took place
In another incident, the girl told police Joe asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket, 'rubbing' his hands on her thighs.
'During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim's underwear and grazed her genitals,' Bay County sheriff's Office said.
Duggar subsequently told the alleged victim he was sorry, and the incidents ceased, according to officials with the sheriff's office.
The father of the alleged victim confronted Joe about what happened on Tuesday, at which time he admitted to his actions to the father and a detective in Tontitown, the sheriff's office said.
Duggar was subsequently arrested and charged in connection with lewd and lascivious behavior – molestation of a victim less than 12-years-old; and lewd and lascivious behavior by a person 18 years or older.
Authorities with the sheriff's office said that he is currently awaiting extradition to Bay County.
Joe has been married to Kendra since September 2017, and they are parents to four children
A Duggar family spokesman told the Daily Mail Wednesday evening the family had not issued a statement about the latest scandal to hit the clan.
In May 2015, Joe's older brother Josh Duggar apologized for ‘wrongdoing’ after a 2006 police report revealed that he had been investigated as a teen for inappropriately touching five underage girls.
Joe condemned Josh's behavior in 2015 after his sisters Jill and Jessa came forward saying they were two of the victims.
Amid the 2015 allegations, Josh admitted that he had ‘acted inexcusably’ and ‘hurt others, including my family and close friends'.
He was then found guilty in December 2021, of two charges of knowingly receiving and possessing child pornography unrelated to the previous allegations.
Joe Dugger said he was shocked by the allegations against Josh in a December 2015 appearance on Jill & Jessa: Counting On.
The then-20-year-old Joe said, 'I don't think there's any way any of us would have known that my brother was living such a secret life. It broke my heart.'
Josh was then found guilty in December 2021, of two charges of knowingly receiving and possessing child pornography unrelated to the previous allegations and was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison.
He is serving his time as prisoner number 42501-509 in the low security Seagoville Federal Corrections Institute in Texas
His earliest possible release is October 2, 2032.
