PANAMA CITY, Fla. (Court TV) — Reality television’s Joseph Duggar appeared before a Florida judge on Tuesday morning on charges alleging he inappropriately touched a young girl.
Joseph Duggar appears in court on March 31, 2026. (Court TV)
Joseph Duggar, 31, appeared remotely from the Bay County Jail, wearing a striped jail uniform and holding a sheet of paper. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of lewd and lascivious behavior and a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation.
Joseph Duggar signed a form indicating he did not want a public defender appointed for him. Attorney Albert Sauline, who appeared on his behalf in court, requested a “reasonable bond,” saying that his client has no prior criminal history. “He asks to be treated as fairly as anyone else, regardless of his status in the television industry,” Sauline said, noting that Joseph Duggar’s father had come to town to post bail.
Joseph Duggar and his large family formerly starred on the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting,” which followed their lives. The show was cancelled in 2015 after Joseph Duggar’s brother, Josh Duggar, was accused of molesting four of his sisters and a babysitter. Josh Duggar was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 12 1/2-year prison sentence.
In the current case, prosecutors say Joseph Duggar touched a 9-year-old girl inappropriately while on vacation with the family in Panama City, Florida. The alleged victim told the police that Joseph Duggar touched her over her underwear while sitting next to her beneath a blanket on a couch. When the alleged victim’s father confronted Joseph Duggar, police say “the defendant admitted his actions, stating he touched the victim over her clothing. The defendant admitted his intentions were not pure.”
Judge Tracy Smith set a total bond of $600,000 in the case and ordered the defendant to have no contact with the alleged victim and no unsupervised contact with any minors.
Joseph Duggar and his wife, Kendra Duggar, are also facing unrelated charges in Arkansas. There, they are each charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment. Joseph Duggar was arrested on the Florida charges at his Arkansas home and then waived extradition to the Sunshine State.
Joseph Duggar is scheduled to return to court in his Florida case on April 20.
