Joseph Duggar received advice from Josh's wife, Anna.

April 3 2026, Published 6:20 p.m. ET

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Anna Duggar sent Joseph an email giving him tips on surviving the .big house'.

Joseph spent more than a week in the Washington County jail while waiting to be transferred to Bay County, Florida, to face child molestation charges.

The experience may have been frightening for the religious reality star, but it was nothing new for Anna, and she was happy to offer some advice.

"Hey Joseph! Bro, you’ve got our prayers. We love you — however we can help, please let us know," Anna, 37, wrote in an email Radar acquired. "I think I put some money on your books. I don’t remember how phone calls and video calls work."

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She continued, "Please let me know if I can help get things set up so you can call and talk with Kendra," while making sure to warn him, "Just remember, don’t talk about anything legal unless you are with an attorney. Everything said in these messages, phone calls, and video chats are recorded and turned over to prosecutors."

Finally, she asked if he was experiencing similar conditions to her husband's time behind bars.

"Are they keeping you in solitary, or will they let you go into a pod?" she asked. "Joshua's experience there at Washington County was fairly safe."

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Joseph Duggar spent a week in the same jail as older brother Josh

Josh's "experience" came five years earlier, after he spent months in the same space during his own child pornography trial, a twist that apparently wasn't lost on Joseph.

In a new video, Joseph, 31, could be seen being searched by a deputy while being booked into the Washington County Jail.

His demeanor seemed fairly calm, and he occasionally smiled in the clips. At one point, the officer asked him if he had ever been to the detention facility before.

Joseph laughed and replied, "Not on this side," seemingly referring to potentially visiting his older brother in jail. He then clarified that he said his brother was doing "hard time."

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Josh Duggar, here with wife Anna, is serving 12 years in prison on child pornography charges.

It's not the first time Anna or Josh has come to Joseph's aid. A recently rediscovered clip from the family's former TLC series raised eyebrows at Joseph's apparent choice for a mentor.

In a clip of the family at the gym, a younger Joseph casually admitted he leaned on Josh for help.

"I go to my dad and Josh for advice, so it's kinda neat they come to me for advice this time," Joseph said at the time.

The comment, once seemingly harmless, has taken on a far darker tone in light of what’s since come to light about both Josh and Joseph.

Josh Duggar currently in a federal prison in Texas.

As Radar reported, Josh, 38, was arrested in April 2021 on suspicion of receiving and possessing child pornography.

During his trial, an agent working for the Department of Homeland Security claimed that the videos found on the 19 Kids and Counting alum's computer were "in the top five of the worst of the worst that I've ever had to examine."

While Josh repeatedly claimed his innocence throughout the investigation, he was found guilty and ordered to serve a 12.5-year sentence behind bars.

He was transferred from Washington County Jail in Arkansas to Federal Correctional Facility Seagoville in Texas in June 2022.