Former reality television personality Joseph Duggar and his wife, Kendra Duggar, have abruptly moved to withdraw their not guilty pleas in an Arkansas case involving child endangerment and false imprisonment charges.
The unexpected filing came just before the couple had been scheduled to appear in an Arkansas courtroom on Monday.
The Arkansas charges were filed in March after authorities searched the couple’s home following Joseph’s arrest in a separate Florida case, where he is accused of lewd and lascivious molestation involving a victim under the age of 12.
During the search of the Duggars’ residence in Tontitown, investigators said they found locks installed on the outside of doors leading to the children’s bedrooms.
Prosecutors subsequently charged the pair with four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment.
Kendra, 27, was taken into custody on March 20 and booked into the same jail where Joseph, known to viewers from 19 Kids and Counting, was being held while awaiting extradition in connection with the Florida case.
Rather than appearing in court as planned, the couple submitted a plea by order, a move that clears the way for them to enter either guilty pleas or no contest pleas in the Arkansas case.
The latest development does not affect Joseph’s separate criminal case in Florida, which is expected to continue on its own track. He has pleaded not guilty in that matter, waived his arraignment and requested a jury trial.
Joseph Duggar, 31, and his wife Kendra, 27, have rescinded their not guilty pleas to child endangerment and false imprisonment charges in Arkansas
The couple avoided appearing in court Monday by submitting a plea by order, allowing them to change their pleas to guilty or no contest (pictured: Joseph Duggar)
Joseph and Kendra were each charged with four counts of child endangerment and four counts of false imprisonment after authorities allegedly found locks on the exteriors of their children’s bedroom doors
The judge presiding over the case is now expected to accept the couple’s filing and determine their sentence. If convicted on all eight counts, the Duggars face up to eight years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
The couple share four children together, sons Garrett and Justus and daughters Addison and Brooklyn.
Kendra was released on a $1,470 bond 90 minutes after her arrest. Joseph was released from the Florida jail he was extradited to after posting a $600,000 bond on April 1.
A judge initially issued an order forbidding her to have contact with her kids, however, this was overturned after attorney Travis Story, who has represented the Duggars in the Arkansas case, filed a motion. The Daily Mail has contacted Story for comment.
Joseph’s accuser in his Florida case, who is currently 14, alleged she suffered ‘several incidents of sexual abuse’ when she was nine years old on a family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, according to the affidavit obtained by Our News Outlet.
She made the claims in a forensic interview she gave to a detective with the Tontitown Police Department, per an affidavit written by Deputy Sheriff Darrell Norris of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Lynn Haven, Florida.
At the time of the Florida vacation described in the document, the couple had two children and Kendra was pregnant with their third.
Joseph’s accuser told a detective that during the Florida vacation, she ‘would sit on the defendant’s lap’ and he would ‘cradle [her] with his arms,’ the affidavit states.
As the holiday progressed, Joseph’s behavior is said to have evolved, according to the underage girl’s account of events as relayed in the legal document.
Joseph allegedly requested that she ‘sit on the couch beside [him],’ whereupon he supposedly ‘covered the parties with a blanket,’ per the affidavit.
Joseph was separately arrested in Florida on March 18 and charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim under 12. He denies the charges
Joseph’s accuser alleged she was sexually abused when she was nine during a family vacation in Panama City Beach, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by Our News Outlet. He pleaded not guilty
The 19 Kids And County star’s separate Florida molestation case is unaffected by the couple’s change of plea in Arkansas and is expected to proceed
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The alleged victim accused Joseph of fondling and groping her under the blanket.
She claimed he ‘eventually approached the victim and apologized for his actions’ and then ‘the incidents stopped occurring,’ the affidavit claims.
After the underage girl gave her forensic interview to the Arkansas detective, Deputy Sheriff Darrell Norris in Florida ‘requested the detective and victim’s father call Joseph’ in order to obtain a confession from him.
The affidavit claims that during the call, Joseph ‘admitted his actions, stating he touched the victim over her clothing’ and ‘admitted his intentions were not pure.’
