Joseph Duggar was released from an Arkansas jail last week to begin his extradition to Florida following his arrest for child molestation.
Duggar, 31, was transferred out of the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Friday, March 27, Luxury Handbag Shopping confirmed via online records. People was the first to report the news. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the outlet that the 19 Kids and Counting alum is no longer in their custody.
Duggar was held at the facility for nine days while he awaited extradition to Florida, where he was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older.
Duggar’s whereabouts are not currently known, as he is not yet listed as being in the custody of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO). Charges have yet to be formally filed by prosecutors in that county.
Duggar was arrested in Tontitown, Arkansas, on March 18 after a 14-year-old female accused him of sexually abusing her multiple times during a family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2020. The victim was 9 years old at the time the alleged incidents occurred.
During a forensic interview with a detective from the Tontitown Police Department, the victim claimed that Duggar asked her to “sit on his lap” multiple times and “cradled” her in his arms. As the vacation continued, he allegedly asked her to sit next to her on a couch and covered their bodies with a blanket before pulling up her dress to touch her inappropriately on her thigh and the outside of her underwear.
The victim stated that she felt “uncomfortable” and “confused” during the alleged incidents.
Duggar eventually “apologized for his actions” and the incidents stopped, the victim said.
The victim’s father confronted Duggar about the incidents on March 17, during which time he admitted to his actions, according to the affidavit. During a subsequent phone call between the victim’s father and Duggar, he allegedly stated that he “touched the victim over her clothing” and admitted that his “intentions were not pure.”
In addition to being charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, Duggar was later charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor in the second degree and four counts of false imprisonment in the second degree. His wife, Kendra Duggar, was arrested on the same charges on March 20 and subsequently released on a $1,470 bond. (Joseph and Kendra, 27, share four children.)
A source exclusively told Us that Kendra’s arrest had “nothing to do” with Joseph’s.
“After his charge, they automatically do a home study if minors live there,” the source said. “Apparently, they had two rooms where the lock of the doorknob was on the outside instead of inside. They arrested her and took her kids for that, saying it’s evidence that she wrongly detains her kids.”
Kendra is required to attend a hearing at Elm Springs and Tontitown District Court on April 29 at 2 p.m. local time.
