Jim Bob Duggar urged his son Joseph Duggar to “make lemonade out of lemons” after his arrest on child molestation charges in Arkansas last month.
The Duggar family patriarch, 60, scolded his embattled son via email as Joseph sat behind bars at the Washington County Jail in Arkansas while waiting extradition to Bay County, Florida.
“Mom & I love you very much,” Jim Bob began the correspondence, according to emails obtained by People on Thursday. “[But] you have a long road ahead of you.”
After telling the 31-year-old that he “made some terrible decisions,” Jim Bob reminded his son that “God has already forgiven you if you have asked him.”
He continued, “You are just going to have to accept the situation at this point, and it’s also fine to pray that God would have mercy on you, but you’re probably gonna face major consequences for several years to come.”
The “19 Kids and Counting” alum – who shares Joseph and 18 additional children with his 59-year-old wife, Michelle Duggar – went on to tell his imprisoned son to “make lemonade out of lemons” and “point people to Christ even through the time you’re in jail and prison.”
“We’ll keep praying for you,” Jim Bob concluded the email after noting how “David in the Bible royally messed up” but “repented and became a man after God’s own heart.”
The Duggar family did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Arkansas authorities arrested Joseph on March 18 in connection with allegations that he molested a 9-year-old girl during a family vacation to Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2020.
The former TLC star was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older.
He was then extradited to Florida’s Bay County Jail on Tuesday morning before making his first court appearance later that day.
Jim Bob was with Joseph in Bay County when he was formally arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the molestation charges, as well as when the former reality star was released on a $600,000 bond and flown back home to Arkansas.
But Jim Bob wasn’t the only Duggar family member keeping in contact with Joseph during his jailhouse stay, because the latter also corresponded with his sister-in-law, Anna Duggar, and his wife, Kendra Duggar.
In one alleged email obtained by the Daily Mail, Joseph reportedly apologized for “dragging the family name through the mud once again.”
Josh Duggar, another of Jim Bob and Michelle’s many children, is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material.
Kendra reportedly told her embattled husband that the family was “disappointed” in him after his child molestation arrest.
“Just know that everybody loves you, even if they’re disappointed,” she said in the call obtained by TMZ on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, both Joseph and Kendra were charged with four second-degree counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four second-degree counts of false imprisonment in a separate case in Arkansas on March 20.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
