Amy Duggar King Says Cousin Josh Duggar ‘Deserves’ Prison (Exclusive)

Amy (Duggar) King hopes that cousin Josh Duggar’s time behind bars is without ease.

Nearly three years ago, Josh, 36, was arrested on April 29 for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials. He was convicted on December 9, 2021, and sentenced on May 25, 2022, to almost 13 years in prison. His appeal was denied and instead, his stint was extended by almost two months.

The former 19 Kids and Counting star is slated to remain at FCI Seagoville Federal Prison in Texas until October 2032.

“I hope every day there is absolute torture for him,” Amy, 37, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I really hope that because what he watched and what he was viewing for his own fulfillment is those kids experiencing torture.”

The mother of one continues, “He deserves every second in there, and I hope he gets a longer term. I hope he messes up again.”

Josh Duggar is pictured speaking during the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel and Convention Center on February 28, 2015 in National Harbor, Maryland.

Kris Connor/Getty 


Before Josh’s child pornography scandal, the disgraced TV personality — who shares seven children with wife Anna Duggar — had made headlines for molesting multiple young girls, including sisters Jill (Duggar) Dillard and Jessa (Duggar) Seewald, as a teenager. He also admitted to using Ashley Madison to have an extramarital affair, later choosing to enter rehab for his pornography addiction.

With Josh’s track record in mind, Amy says she doesn’t “know if he’s doing any work” on himself amid his imprisonment.

“I have not spoken to him, and I will not. I will not,” she shares. “When you just cross those evil lines like that, there is no coming back. I just think there’s no coming back.”

Amy also has no contact with her cousin’s wife Anna, though the pair ran into each other at a funeral in the summer of 2023. The run-in comes after Amy reached out, offering Anna and her children a place to stay following Josh’s entry into prison.

“That was the last time. I wasn’t really expecting to see anyone there, and I was shocked to see her. I just looked at her and I said, ‘Anna,’ and she was like, ‘I just need space.’ That’s all she said to me,” she recalls.

(L-R) Anna Duggar and Josh Duggar.
Kris Connor/Getty

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“I understand, I can’t speak for Anna and I’m not going to try, but I can’t imagine what she has to deal with internally, let alone out for the world to see,” she continues. “It’s heartbreaking in every direction and I just respected the fact that she needed space and I didn’t try to push any further.”

“I wanted to say a whole lot. I wanted to say tons of things, but in that moment it wasn’t obviously the right location,” she adds. “It was a ceremony, a viewing actually, at a funeral, and yeah. It wasn’t the right timing and I didn’t want to make ascene and I didn’t want to do that or draw attention to anything and clearly respect her so I didn’t. But if you ask me, I think she is mad. I do. I think she’s just really, really mad.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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