TONTITOWN, Ark. (Court TV) — Reality TV personalities Joseph and Kendra Duggar will avoid jail if they maintain good behavior for the next year under the conditions of plea agreements they both signed.
Joseph and Kendra Duggar (Washington Co. Sheriff’s Office)
Kendra Duggar, 27, and Joseph Duggar, 31, were both arrested this spring after an investigation in Florida led officers to search their property in Arkansas. In the Florida case, Joseph Duggar was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior and lewd and lascivious molestation after he allegedly touched a 9-year-old girl inappropriately while on vacation with his family in Panama City, Florida.
Investigators never released details of the Arkansas investigation, which led to both Kendra and Joseph Duggar facing four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment.
On Monday, Aug. 10, both Kendra and Joseph Duggar appeared in court in Tontitown, where they withdrew their previously entered not-guilty pleas. Under the terms of the couple’s agreement with prosecutors, the case won’t be closed, but will be “placed under advisement” for the next 12 months. If both defendants maintain good behavior, follow all court orders and pay fines of $1,850 each, then the charges will be dismissed at the end of the 12 months.
Joseph Duggar was the seventh child born to Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, who rose to fame on the TLC show “19 Kids and Counting,” which ended in 2015 after revelations that Joshua Duggar, Joseph Duggar’s older brother, had molested five victims. Joshua Duggar is serving a 12 1/2-year prison sentence after his 2021 conviction.
The case against Joseph Duggar in Florida remains open. A judge there denied his request to modify a no-contact order in the case that would have allowed him to visit his land, which sits within 500 feet of the alleged victim’s home. No trial date has been set in that case; Joseph Duggar’s next pretrial hearing is in September.
