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Joseph Duggar pleads not guilty to charges of lewd and lascivious conduct and molestation against minor
bro. Good morning. All right, who do we have first, ma’am? State your name, sir. Uh, Joseph Dugger. Good morning, Mr. Dugger. You’re here for your first appearance after being arrested. For the second-degree felony of lewd and lascivious conduct by *** person 18 years of age or older. You’re also here this morning for your first appearance after being arrested for the life felony offense of lewd or lascivious, lewd or lascivious molestation by an offender over the age of 18 years of age and *** victim under the age of 12. It’s my understanding, sir, that you were given *** copy of your paperwork and advised of your rights at the jail. Is that correct? Yes, that’s right. All right, sir, I reviewed the application that you filled out and it says that you do not want the court to appoint an attorney to represent you, so I will not do so at this time, sir, but if you have *** change in circumstances, you can fill out another application for the court to review then, OK, sir? OK, thank you. And Mr. Sale, are you here this morning on behalf of Mr. Duggar? Yes, Your Honor, I represent Mr. Duggar in this matter, Your Honor. The family is asking for the most reasonable bond. The court is inclined to say. It’s my understanding he has no prior criminal history whatsoever, not even *** speeding. His father has flown into town on Saturday and is here in our community ready to post the bond if the court is inclined to issue such. So we’re asking for the most reasonable bond the court is comfortable setting. to be treated as fairly as anyone else would regardless of his status in the television industry. And Mr. Sting, are you representing Mr. Duggar for first appearance purposes or through the duration of the case, sir? Through the duration, Your Honor. Anything from the state attorney’s office? Yes, Your Honor. Good morning. We’re asking for *** substantial monetary bond in this case. It’s *** serious charge against the child. We ask that there be no contact placed with the victim as well as no unsupervised contact with any minors. Duggar, even though he doesn’t have *** criminal history, has no ties to the community. The alleged facts here was that he was just on vacation and stayed here *** short period of time. Same ability to come here *** short period of time allows him to leave quickly as well. So no ties to the community. So we ask for *** substantial bond under 90346 factors you’re allowed to consider to make sure he appears in court. All right. And another judge determined there was probable cause for your arrest by signing of the warrants. Ms. Fainberg, do you have any criminal history, ma’am? It may show *** child in danger of being in false imprisonment out of Arkansas this year. Your Honor, I believe those are charges that may still be pending. As you know, he has another family member that was arrested for the same circumstance. I don’t think those have been resolved in light of him coming here. Mr. I’m, I’m not aware of anything else, sir. I’m just here this morning on Mr. Joseph Duggar’s case, so. So Ms. Famber, you show those is open, you said out of the state of Arkansas? I don’t show the disposition. I show that they were charged. OK, that is, that is correct. They’re pending charges in Arkansas at this time. All right. All right, Mr. Duggar, I’m gonna set your bond amount this morning in the lewd or lascivious conduct charge at $100,000. I’m gonna set your bond amount in the lewd or lascivious molestation charge, which is *** life felony, at half *** million dollars. It’s *** total of $600,000 bond. So, you’re gonna have some other conditions as well. Sir, you are ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim. That means directly, indirectly through *** third party or social media. Do you understand the no contact order, sir? Yes, ma’am. Sir, you were also ordered that you were to have no unsupervised contact with any minors under the age of 18. Your next court date, sir, is April 20th at 9:00 a.m. Step to your right to the tee, ma’am, if you’ll give us *** moment. Yes, yes, ma’am.
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Joseph Duggar pleads not guilty to charges of lewd and lascivious conduct and molestation against minor
Joseph Garrett Duggar, the 31-year-old former “19 Kids and Counting” star, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of sexually abusing a young girl.Online jail records showed Duggar was booked into the Bay County Jail in Florida at 7:32 a.m. and appeared in court later in the morning.Duggar pleaded not guilty to one charge of lewd and lascivious conduct and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than twelve years old, according to a court document.His bond was set at $600,000 on both charges. A court date was set for Apr. 20, 2026.He was ordered not to have contact with the victim and not to have any unsupervised contact with any minors.Duggar waived extradition from Arkansas to Florida earlier this month.He is also facing separate charges out of Tontitown, Arkansas.Florida charges against Joseph DuggarA 14-year-old girl told police there were several incidents involving Duggar when she was on a family trip to Panama City Beach when she was 9 years old.According to investigators, the girl said Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap. She also told investigators that he later asked her to sit beside him on a couch under a blanket, where he manipulated her underwear, grazed her genitals, and rubbed her thighs.The girl told investigators Duggar later apologized and that the conduct stopped afterward, authorities said.Joseph Duggar’s arrest in Florida caseInvestigators said the girl’s father confronted Duggar on March 17. During that confrontation, Duggar admitted his actions to her father and later to Tontitown detectives, according to the sheriff’s office.Tontitown police contacted police in Bay County on March 18.Police there asked Tontitown police to arrest Duggar on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim younger than 12 and lewd and lascivious conduct by a person 18 or older, authorities said.Arkansas chargesAccording to the Washington County Detention Center’s inmate roster, Duggar is facing charges of false imprisonment in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a minor in the second degree.Online jail records also show his wife, Kendra Duggar, is facing charges of false imprisonment in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a minor in the second degree. She was booked into the Washington County Detention Center and released on $1,470 bond.Who is Joseph Duggar?Joseph Duggar is known to many audiences as a member of the Duggar family, which rose to national prominence through the TLC reality television franchise “19 Kids and Counting.”One of his brothers, Joshua Duggar, is serving a federal sentence for receiving and possessing child pornography.Joshua Duggar maintains he did not get a fair trial.
Joseph Garrett Duggar, the 31-year-old former “19 Kids and Counting” star, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of sexually abusing a young girl.
Online jail records showed Duggar was booked into the Bay County Jail in Florida at 7:32 a.m. and appeared in court later in the morning.
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Duggar pleaded not guilty to one charge of lewd and lascivious conduct and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than twelve years old, according to a court document.
His bond was set at $600,000 on both charges. A court date was set for Apr. 20, 2026.
He was ordered not to have contact with the victim and not to have any unsupervised contact with any minors.
Duggar waived extradition from Arkansas to Florida earlier this month.
He is also facing separate charges out of Tontitown, Arkansas.
Florida charges against Joseph Duggar
A 14-year-old girl told police there were several incidents involving Duggar when she was on a family trip to Panama City Beach when she was 9 years old.
According to investigators, the girl said Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap. She also told investigators that he later asked her to sit beside him on a couch under a blanket, where he manipulated her underwear, grazed her genitals, and rubbed her thighs.
The girl told investigators Duggar later apologized and that the conduct stopped afterward, authorities said.
Joseph Duggar’s arrest in Florida case
Investigators said the girl’s father confronted Duggar on March 17. During that confrontation, Duggar admitted his actions to her father and later to Tontitown detectives, according to the sheriff’s office.
Tontitown police contacted police in Bay County on March 18.
Police there asked Tontitown police to arrest Duggar on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim younger than 12 and lewd and lascivious conduct by a person 18 or older, authorities said.
Arkansas charges
According to the Washington County Detention Center’s inmate roster, Duggar is facing charges of false imprisonment in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a minor in the second degree.
Online jail records also show his wife, Kendra Duggar, is facing charges of false imprisonment in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a minor in the second degree. She was booked into the Washington County Detention Center and released on $1,470 bond.
Who is Joseph Duggar?
Joseph Duggar is known to many audiences as a member of the Duggar family, which rose to national prominence through the TLC reality television franchise “19 Kids and Counting.”
One of his brothers, Joshua Duggar, is serving a federal sentence for receiving and possessing child pornography.



