"The Willis Family" star Toby Willis, pictured, was charged with raping a child on Friday (Sept. 9). (Photo : Twitter/TBI)
Toby Willis, the father that featured on the TLC reality series "The Willis Family," was arrested on Friday (Sept. 9) and charged with raping a child, according to authorities.
Willis, 46, was arrested by agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in Greenville, Kentucky, where he travelled in an attempt to flee from law enforcement officials, People reported.
He was charged with one count of child rape following an investigation into an incident that took place 12 years ago, when the reality star allegedly engaged in sexual acts with an underage girl.
"The Willis Family" documented the life of "The Willis Clan," a country musical group, which includes Willis, his wife Brenda and their 12 children aged between 5 and 24. The family shot to fame after making it to the quarterfinals round in the ninth season of "America's Got Talent," according to TMZ.
The reality series ran for two seasons on TLC, with the second season coming to an end in April.
The network confirmed in a statement that the show had not been renewed for another season and expressed its disbelief over Willis' arrest. "We are shocked to hear the news," TLC said. The network has also pulled the show from its official website.
A source revealed to US Weekly that the network informed the Willis family in May that they would not be going ahead with the third season due to the show's poor ratings. The insider added that TLC had done their due diligence and carried out background checks but found no issues with Toby.
This is not the first TLC show to have become the subject of controversy. Last year, "19 Kids and Counting" was cancelled after it became known that the Duggar family eldest child, Josh Duggar," was being investigated for molesting five underage girls, including his sisters.
In 2014, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" was also shelved in the wake of reports that Mama June was dating a registered sex offender who had allegedly touched her daughter inappropriately.
More details about Willis' arrest in the video below:
