This week, police arrested Joseph Duggar on charges of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl.
Among the first of his siblings to speak out was disgraced sex offender Josh, who showered his younger brother with support — wanted or not.
Jill and her husband, Derick Dillard, have put out their own statement.
This is a painful, complex topic for them. What are they saying?
The Dillards are responding to Joseph’s arrest
On Thursday, March 19, Jill and Derick Dillard took to their family website to release this statement (below).
‘We were shocked yesterday evening to learn of Jill’s brother (Joseph Duggar’s) arrest,” the Dillards wrote.
“We first learned of anything related to his charges yesterday,” they shared.
The Dillards revealed that they only learned about this “via a text from a friend who messaged us about the recent media reports.”
So, a friend saw reports “of Joseph’s arrest and his alleged confession to molesting a juvenile female in 2020” and then texted Jill and Derick. There was no forewarning.
“We are shocked and heartbroken,” the Dillards wrote. “We strongly condemn abuse.”
As longtime observers of the Duggars are aware, Jill herself is a CSA survivor — one of the victims of her other brother, Josh.
Jill and Derick affirmed: “We support the rule of law and hope that justice will be achieved.”
That’s pretty vague (albeit understandably so), hoping for justice without suggesting what the most just outcome might be.
However, the Dillards soon became much more specific when they spoke about the victim — the 14-year-old girl who was 9 at the time of the alleged crime.
Their thoughts are, first and foremost, with the victim
“Our hearts go out to the innocent juvenile victim of this unspeakable crime,” Jill and Derick expressed, “and her family.”
Notably, it seems that the girl’s father was involved in uncovering the crime. He reportedly confronted Joseph.
“We pray God gives her strength, comfort, and hope,” the Dillards expressed.
“And,” the statement continued, “that she is able to get all the help and support she needs and deserves in the days ahead.”
The criminal charges stem from a fateful Florida vacation in 2020. However, coming forward about abuse sometimes forces victims to confront the reality of what has been done to them.
“We love our sister-in-law, Kendra, and our four nieces and nephews,” Jill and Derick emphasized.
Joseph was already a father of two in 2020.
“And,” the Dillards wrote, they “pray that they feel loved and supported during this time.”
They added: “As we cannot imagine the indescribable pain they feel as they process and grieve everything.”
Jill and Derick concluded by citing biblical verses: one about justice from Isaiah, and another about victims from Psalms.
Unfortunately, misdirected rage has targeted Jill and her sisters
Even under a post memorializing their stillborn daughter, trolls mocked Jill and Derick — asking if she is “proud” of her family.
There is a time and a place. And Jill has simply never been the right target for this kind of vitriol.
Some of her siblings do need to think long and hard about who they support.
Unquestionably, the extreme beliefs that the Duggars espouse make their community a perfect hunting ground for men who want to prey upon women and girls. Josh and now Joseph seem to be evidence of this.
But Jill has spoken against Josh repeatedly. She has challenged her family, and faced backlash for it. She’s not rallying to Joseph’s defense now — and as a CSA survivor herself, she should not be a target for harassment.