Amy Duggar King has admitted she is “afraid” of the day her pedophile cousin Josh is released from prison, and doesn’t believe he can be rehabilitated due to his “sick” urges and “despicable” behavior.
Josh, 35, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison in May 2022 after a jury found him guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography.
The father of seven tried to appeal against his conviction, but it was upheld on August 7 this year, with his earliest possible release date set for October 2, 2032, but Amy has argued he should never be allowed back into society.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, the mother-of-one condemned her relative for his “heinous” crimes and branded him “wicked,” while praising his sisters – whom he confessed to abusing years ago.
When asked if she thinks the Duggar family will put on a united front when Josh is released from prison, Amy replied, “I dread that day. I don’t really believe you can be rehabilitated from such morbid things. And if you have that problem, I don’t believe you should be released into society.
Her fear: Amy Duggar King has admitted she is ‘dreading’ the day her pedophile cousin Josh is released from prison
Behind bars: Josh, now 35, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison in May 2022
Justice served: Josh, pictured here in 2014, was found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography
“The kids are so innocent and it breaks my heart to think anyone would want to destroy that in a little toddler or a child. It breaks my heart, it really breaks my heart.
“So I dread that day, because that’s another monster on the loose. That’s another monster that… you might not act on it, but he still has those thoughts, and he still has that same urge.”
When asked about the fact that Josh’s wife – and mother of his seven children – Anna stood by him during the trial and has not filed for divorce, Amy said she doesn’t think Anna doesn’t want outside help just yet.
“I think in the heart of hearts she thinks he’s innocent and I think she’ll just trust the love they have and just get on with her kids as best she can,” Amy claimed.
‘I have no idea what I would do if I were in Anna’s shoes. I think it takes so long just to process what happened, how many scandals came out and how much heartbreaking news she had to go through. I don’t blame her for not making any sudden movements, because she’s probably just overcome with so much fear and so much pain.’
Amy then revealed, “I’ve made it clear in every way I can that I’m here for Anna, I love Anna, I’ll help Anna. I hope she gets therapy, real counseling that can really help her parse all of this, and approach it from a very sane point of view, and to protect her kids and be the best mother.
“But you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped, and that’s so hard for me as a mother and someone who knows her, not to go crazy because it’s so hard for me to understand why you wouldn’t suddenly making movements.’
Still together: Amy claimed Josh’s wife Anna “thinks he’s innocent” and doesn’t want help
Mama’s boy: Josh pictured with his mother Michelle before he was arrested
United front: Anna will support her husband as they arrive at court in December 2021
Family photo: Anna and Josh pictured with six of their seven children before his crimes came to light
I dread that day. I don’t really believe you can be rehabilitated from such morbid things. And if you have that problem, I don’t believe you should be released into society.
Amy admitted that she prays “every day” for Anna and her “beautiful” children and worries about what the future holds for them.
“It’s tough, it’s really tough, and it’s just absolutely despicable and evil, what happened and what’s still happening. He’s a monster put away, and I’ll say that to the end of my time, but there are millions like him who do this and look at that kind of filth and I will advocate for children as long as I have breath.”
Amy confirmed that she never had any suspicions about Josh growing up together and learned about his arrest in April 2021 “just like the rest of the world on national television” and said it completely shocked her.
“I texted him two weeks before he was arrested,” she revealed. “It’s just insane how someone can actually lead a double life. I honestly just cried and cried, and cried a little more until there were no tears left. I was not okay.
“After the last scandal, you know, the disgust of what actually happened and what he was looking at, I was not well for months and I am still shocked by it. My whole demeanor has changed, I’m getting shaky, my eyes are starting to water, it’s just horrific and I never thought something like this would ever happen, it’s disgusting,” Amy added.
She also confirmed that she would never let Josh go near her three-year-old son Jaxton, but said she couldn’t answer that question in front of her cousins.
“I honestly have no idea,” said Amy when asked about her female relatives, such as Jill Duggar, to whom she is very close.
Jill, 32, appeared alongside Amy in the Amazon docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, which explores the dark side of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP).
In the spotlight: Amy claimed she was portrayed as the ‘crazy cousin’ on the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting
Speaking: Amy appeared in the Amazon docuseries Shiny Happy People with her husband Dillon King
Sad things: Jill Duggar, pictured with husband Derick Dillard, got emotional during her interview for Shiny Happy People
Her Story: Jill Duggar’s memoir, Counting The Cost, will be released September 12
The mother-of-three became upset during her interview as she recalled the extreme measures her father took to try to cover up Josh’s molestation of his own sisters – and recalled how she was forced to portray her brother on national television. defend to prevent the family’s hit reality show from being canceled.
“I hope it was a form of therapy for her, and that she takes that weight off by carrying around all those secrets and all the ways she wasn’t protected,” Amy said of Jill’s participation in Shiny Happy People.
“It must be so incredibly heavy, and she’s so light, really. She is such a sweet person and none of those girls deserved that, they are beautiful girls inside and out. It pains me to know that happened, it really does. I wish I could have done something about that a long time ago,” she added.
When a shocking report surfaced on the internet in 2015 claiming that Josh had admitted to abusing four of his siblings years earlier, his own parents, Jim Bob, now 58, and Michelle Duggar, now 56, had the height and the abuse – it completely shattered the wholesome on-screen image the family had worked so hard to build over the course of their multiple TLC reality shows.
Jill will elaborate on her side of the story when she releases her new memoir, Counting The Cost, on Sept. 12, and while Amy hasn’t received a copy of it yet, she certainly thinks there will be more revelations to come.
“I don’t believe this is the end of the story,” she said. “I do believe that more will come out and I am not ready.
“But eventually it’s going to have to happen anyway because you don’t turn into a monster overnight,” she added, referring to Josh.