Shortly after Joseph Duggar's arrest on charges of molesting a 9-year-old girl, reports claimed that he had confessed — to the girl's father and to police.
Now, an affidavit is backing up these reports. He apparently confessed twice.
Does this mean that, when he's extradited for Florida and appears in court, he'll plead guilty and spare the victim from having to testify in court?
A lot could change between now and then.
According to police documents, he confessed TWICE
People obtained an affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff's Office relating to the charges that Joseph is facing.
After the unidentified 14-year-old, named as Jane Doe in documents, reported that the adult had touched her genitals during a 2020 vacation to Florida — when she was 9 — investigators followed up.
Deputy Sheriff Darrell Norris "requested the detective and victim's father call Joseph."
One they were speaking to Joseph on the phone, he allegedly "admitted his actions, stating he touched the victim over her clothing.
The affidavit also mentioned that Joseph "admitted his intentions were not pure." That's an odd statement, given the horrifying context.
This was not, it seems, Joseph's first confession.
Joseph had confessed to Jane Doe's father on March 17, also over the phone, according to the affidavit.
That time, however, no authorities were participating in the call.
Joseph was arrested on March 18. He remains in custody, awaiting extradition to Florida.
Reports seem unclear on whether Joseph was Mirandized when he confessed this second time. If so, his statement can and will be used against him in a court of law. (Even if not, confessions often come up in court — especially if they are recorded.)
Is that it? Confession and case over?
Obviously, everyone would like for Joseph to spend as much time in prison as possible.
He is facing two charges of lewd and lascivious behavior.
One is for the molestation of a victim under the age of 12.
The other is for committing the crime as an adult — Joseph was 25, and already a father of two, for that 2020 vacation.
If he already confessed twice, will he also take a plea, allocute to the crime, and spare Jane Doe from having to testify?
We likely won't know until Joseph enters a plea — guilty or not guilty — when he appears at a pre-trial hearing in Florida.
It is very likely that any attorney (whether he hires the attorney or Jim Bob does) would advise him to retract his confession(s).
Crimes against children, particularly those committed years in the past, are difficult to prove.
A defense attorney could claim that Jane Doe is confused, that she is projecting the crime from someone else onto an innocent man, that she was coerced into fabricating this claim.
False allegations like these are extremely rare — especially with confessions. But without the confession, a strong legal team could poke holes in the prosecution's case, turning what many would call absurd doubts into looming questions in the minds of a jury.
Everyone's first thought was of Josh
Before he had apparently heard the reports about Joseph's confessions, Josh declared that Joseph is innocent.
Josh's statement, made through his attorney, linked Joseph's accusations with his own. Josh continues to claim that he is innocent.
He didn't exactly do his brother any favors. But then, everyone was already associating the two with each other.
Now, to be clear, you do not "gotta hand it" to Joseph for reportedly confessing instead of calling this child a liar.
But, if he doesn't retract his confession, at least he might spare this girl from having to tell her story on the witness stand.
Joseph Duggar Confessed TWICE, Police Affidavit Reveals was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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