Jinger Duggar says jailed brother Josh needs ‘new heart’ after child porn trial
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Jinger Duggar writes in her new memoir that her disgraced brother, Josh Duggar, needs a “new heart” after he was imprisoned on child porn charges.
“[As] far as my brother is concerned, I haven’t spoken to him, and I think, I would say, no one is outside of the grace of God and being able to change,” Jinger, 29, elaborates in an exclusive interview with Page Six.
“But until there is major change, I’ll say that’ll probably still be my stance,” the reality star-turned-author continues. “[I’m] just not reaching out for any communication at this point.”
Jinger and her famous family — including mom Michelle Duggar, dad Jim Bob Duggar and 18 siblings — appeared on TLC’s “19 Kids & Counting” and the spinoff “Counting On” for more than a decade. However, the network officially parted ways with the Duggars in 2021 as Josh’s legal woes kept unraveling.
Josh, 34, was found guilty in December 2021 of receiving and possessing child porn. The former TV personality — who shares seven kids with his wife, Anna Duggar — was sentenced in May 2022 to over 12 years in prison.
Josh stood trial six years after he was accused of sexually abusing five underage girls — including his sisters Jill Duggar, Jessa Duggar, Joy-Anna Duggar and Jinger — while he was a teenager.
“You deal with stuff in the public eye, and that’s just another thing that’s been so tough to walk through,” Jinger tells us, reflecting on Josh’s sordid past.
“I will say I’m grateful for the justice system,” she continues. “My heart just really breaks for the victims and their families, and I’m just grateful for the justice that is being served now.”
“If they need anything at all, I would hope that they would know that they can come to us,” she adds. “My heart just breaks for them as well.”
Jinger’s latest book, “Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear,” details her journey leaving the Institute in Basic Life Principles in 2017 after realizing that she no longer subscribed to its “cult-like” teachings.
The ultraconservative sect of Christianity was led by disgraced minister Bill Gothard, who resigned from the IBLP in 2014 amid sexual harassment and molestation accusations. (Gothard denied wrongdoing and was not criminally charged.)
“He built his teachings on fear, manipulation, superstition and control,” Jinger recounts of Gothard. “It feels good to be out of it and on the other side.”
Jinger groups Gothard and Josh together, asserting in “Becoming Free Indeed” that both men need “new hearts.”
“It doesn’t start from the outside. It starts from your heart,” the mom of two, who stresses that she is still a strong Christian, tells Page Six. “So needing a new heart is done … through the gospel of Jesus Christ changing your heart and giving you new desires.”
Whether Josh and Gothard are capable of meaningful change remains to be seen, Jinger says.
“I think that we’ll just watch throughout the years, and we’ll just see from a distance … if there is any change,” she explains, noting that she prays specifically for her brother’s reformation.
“I just pray that he would ultimately change in the long run, but … I’m grateful for [the] time [he’s in jail].”
“Becoming Free Indeed” hits bookstores Tuesday.
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