Very sad news 😭 Jana Duggar drops heartbreaking update about brother Joseph Duggar‘s arrest

Jana Duggar has broken her silence on brother Joseph Duggar‘s arrest.

Wonderwall.com can reveal the 36-year-old claims the scandal involving her sibling came as a “shock” to her own family, insisting she was unaware of any arrests until they were made public.

In a statement posted on Facebook, she wrote, “We are deeply saddened and heartbroken by the situation involving my brother, Joseph.”

“This news came as a shock to us, as we had no prior knowledge before it became public,” she continued.

“Our hearts are with the child who has been harmed–this is a grievous and unacceptable wrong,” she added.

“We continued to pray for the victim and for justice to be carried out,” Jana concluded.

The former 19 Kids and Counting star, who shares one child with Stephen Wissmann, whom she married in 2024, is the older sister of Joseph, 31.

Joseph was arrested in Arkansas on March 18 for allegedly abusing a 9-year-old girl during a 2020 family getaway to Panama City Beach, Florida.

The victim, who is now 14-years-old, told police that Joseph inappropriately touched her during the vacation.

He was subsequently extradited to Florida, where he entered a plea of not guilty and was released on $600,000 bond. He was subsequently ordered to refrain from unsupervised contact with minors, including his own four children.

Along with wife Kendra Duggar, he was then charged in Arkansas on March 20 with four second-degree counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four second-degree counts of false imprisonment.

Kendra, 27, turned herself in and was later bonded out. The couple is set to return to court in their home state later this month.

Jana’s statement comes after father Jim Bob Duggar slammed his son’s “terrible decisions” in a jail letter after his arrest last month.

Jim Bob sent the letter to his son via email while he was being held at an Arkansas detention facility before being extradited to Florida.

“You have made some terrible decisions, but God has already forgiven you,” the 60-year-old former reality star wrote.

He also told Joseph that he needs to “accept the situation” and will most likely deal with “major consequences for several years to come.”

Public outing

Jim Bob, who was pictured with Jospeh at an airport following his release from prison, told his son that both he and his mother Michelle “love” him — but emphasized to Joseph that he has “a long road ahead.”

If he is convicted, his father also wrote, “You can also point people to Christ even through the time you’re in jail and prison.”

Jim Bob also shared that “David in the Bible royally messed up, but he repented and became a man after God’s own heart.”

In conclusion, he told Joseph that “God is not finished with your life,” before adding that “we’ll keep praying for you.”