EXCLUSIVE: Josh Duggar Savages Dad Jim Bob for Giving Wife Anna the Cold Shoulder After Child Porn Sentencing in Secret Jailhouse Emails
Josh Duggar criticizes his family in leaked jail emails.
April 30 2026, Published 2:33 p.m. ET
Josh Duggar took aim at his dad and his siblings in a newly surfaced jailhouse email, Breaking Celebrity News can exclusively reveal.
Two days after he was sentenced to 12.5 years behind bars on a child pornography charge, Josh, 38, went off on his family for not giving more attention to his wife, Anna, and his children.
Josh Duggar Hits Back at Jim Bob
Josh Duggar wrote a number of emails to his father during his time in jail in Arkansas.
Josh began the email cordially, thanking his father, Jim Bob, 60, for past messages as he lamented that jail was the "LONLIEST (sic) PLACE I HAVE EVER BEEN!"
However, after the pleasantries, the disgraced former reality star launched into a rant.
"A couple of things to think on. PLEASE READ THIS AND KNOW THAT I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU, I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOU, BUT I HAVE TO SHOOT STRAIGHT WITH YOU -- FROM MY HEART!" he wrote in the message obtained by Radar.
"Anna said (that) only one of the family members who have reached out to her to say anything since the sentencing," he continued, noting that his brother Jed was the only one who checked in. "A simple 'we love you' would be nice!"
Josh Duggar Scolds His Siblings for Ignoring Him
Josh Duggar shares seven children with his wife, Anna.
He then told his dad to please share his follow-up message in the family group chat – if he saw fit – so that all of his siblings could read it.
"I really don't care what anyone thinks about me at this point," Josh whined. "I can guarantee you if they ever were falsely accused of a crime (no matter how outrageous the accusation) I would have been there to at least show love and reach out to them in compassion!"
"Please think on this. Examine your hearts and lives. Examine your own behavior and ask yourself - 'how would I want to be treated?'" he begged. "But somehow some of you have forgot, or you have willfully chosen not to reach out to your own brother who is IN JAIL!"
'My Kids ARE FATHERLESS'
Josh and Anna Duggar got married in 2008.
He also implored his family to "please show my wife and kids unconditional love and serve them and care for them in my absence!"
"My wife is practically a widow with me gone right now (sic)," he continued. "My kids ARE FATHERLESS for all practical purposes. think about it. Hug your kids tight tonight."
Inside Josh Duggar's Sentencing and Prison Time
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Josh Duggar was sentenced to nearly 13 years behind bars.
As Radar previously reported, Josh was sentenced to 151 months, or 12 years and seven months, after being found guilty of receiving child pornography.
In June 2022, the convicted sex offender was transferred from a local jail in Washington County, Arkansas, to Federal Correctional Facility Seagoville in Texas, where he is expected to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
While there, he is banned from unsupervised prison visits with his minor children.
Although he was recently slated for release in December 2032, according to the Bureau of Prisons, his date has since been pushed back to February 2, 2033.
