Amy Duggar is speaking out about her decision to personally contact the individual accusing her cousin, Joseph Duggar, of child abuse.
By stepping forward, Amy hopes to offer a supportive refuge outside of the high-pressure environment surrounding her famous family amid the scandalous accusations.
This comes after Joseph was accused of molesting an underage girl back in 2020 during a family vacation.
Amy recently opened up about a private conversation she had with the person accusing her cousin, Joseph, of abuse. Speaking on “The Sarah Fraser Show” podcast, the 39-year-old explained that her goal was simply to provide comfort.
“I don’t want to speak for her or anything like that, but I will just tell you, when I talked to this person, I just gave her hope,” Amy shared. She told the accuser that the trauma did not have to define or ruin her life, promising to be a safe resource whenever she needed to talk.
“I told her that if she ever just needed a safe place to talk, that I’m here,” Amy said.
The outreach comes in the wake of 31-year-old Joseph’s arrest in March. He faces serious charges, including lewd and lascivious child molestation of a victim under 12 and misconduct by an adult.
Joseph pleaded not guilty in late March and was freed under strict orders to stay away from the accuser. When asked why Joseph would deny the charges, Amy suggested he might be receiving poor legal and personal advice.
“I think [Joseph’s] had some counsel and I think the counsel is not good,” she stated, calling it dishonest and unhealthy.
Amy Duggar Distanced Herself From The Family Amid The Recurring Scandals
Amy’s active efforts to support her cousin’s accuser stem from a profound personal boundary she established years ago.
In a candid interview on “The Dory Jackson Interview,” the influencer admitted she recognized long ago that her family’s public scandals were far from over.
According to Amy, she purposefully distanced herself from the core family unit following the arrest of her eldest cousin, Josh, on child sexual abuse material charges. As such, she made a conscious choice to establish strict personal boundaries, as reported by The Blast.
Though processing Josh’s initial arrest had a crushing emotional impact on her, she eventually resolved not to let her relatives’ actions dictate or define her own future.
Consequently, when news broke of Joseph’s arrest in March, Amy was devastated to learn that the victim was a young child.
Amy Duggar Delivered A Sharp Criticism Of Her Cousin’s Recorded Detention Calls
Weeks before Amy confessed to distancing herself from the family, she delivered a fierce criticism of her cousin’s behavior behind bars. Following the release of audio recordings from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas, the influencer took to TikTok to address the conversations between Joseph and his wife, Kendra.
When Joseph mentioned he was struggling to rest because of noisy inmates and a disruptive tantrum inside the facility, Amy dismissed his discomfort, stating, “Joe said he’s having trouble sleeping. Aww… Nobody cares.”
“I bet the victim hasn’t slept in five years. Trauma doesn’t clock out,” she added, according to The Blast.
Joseph Duggar Asked The Court To Adjust His Boundary Limits Near The Former Scene of the Crime
Amid Amy’s fierce criticism of Joseph’s complaints, the legal battle took another turn when the former reality star attempted to adjust the strict parameters of his release.
According to The Blast, Joseph formally petitioned a Florida court to modify the terms of his active protective order, which currently prevents him from approaching his accuser’s residential area.
Under the rules, he is legally barred from stepping within 500 feet of the victim. However, in a new legal motion, the defense argues that the safety zone should be altered because the teenager and her family have moved out of their home.
The former television personality, who works in real estate, is asking a judge for permission to enter the area to look after specific plots of land that he owns. The filing insists that he is not trying to bypass the safety rules to locate his accuser, but simply wants to resume standard upkeep on the real estate parcels.
Joseph Duggar Is Also Fighting For Supervised Visits With His Children
Alongside his attempts to adjust boundaries near his accuser’s former home, the former television personality is also challenging the limits placed on his family life.
Joseph submitted a legal request to modify his active no-contact order in an effort to regain access to his own biological children. Following his arrest, the court imposed strict release conditions that forbid him from having any unsupervised interaction with minor children.
Even as his defense team prepares for trial, the father of four is arguing that his parenting rights should be partially restored, per The Blast.
