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After spending more than a week behind bars in his native Arkansas, Joseph Duggar was extradited to Florida on Tuesday.
At his arraignment that same day, Joseph pleaded not guilty to child molestation charges.
In a move that shocked many observers, he was then permitted to post bond and exit police custody.
Joseph appeared in court wearing a striped prison uniform.
He was represented by Albert Sauline III, a criminal defense attorney out of Panama City Beach, Florida (via The Ashley’s Reality Roundup).
Sauline asked the judge for “the most reasonable bond” for Joseph, noting that the former reality star has “no prior criminal history, whatsoever, not even a speeding ticket.”
He also shared a message from Joseph, telling the court that the father of four requests to be “treated as anyone else would, regardless of his status in the television industry.”
The prosecution acknowledged Joe’s lack of a criminal history but noted that no ties to the community,” it would be easy for him to “leave quickly
Eventually, the state prosecutor agreed to let Joseph post a “substantial monetary bond.”
The judge set bond at $600,000: $100,000 for the Lewd and Lascivious Conduct charge and $500,000 for the Lewd and Lascivious Molestation charge.
Joe was also barred from having any contact with the alleged victim, directly, through any third parties, or through social media.
He is also not permitted to have unsupervised contact with any minors under the age of 18.
While that provision makes perfect sense, it’s somewhat surprising in that Joseph is a father of four young children.
According to The Ashley, he and Jim Bob were spotted at the Panama City airport just a few hours after his arraignment.
It seems he was permitted to return to Arkansas, provided he’s back in Florida for his next court appearance on April 20.
We would assume that Joseph would be living with his parents, but his youngest sister, Josie Duggar, is only 16, so that’s not an option.
Of course, the Duggars are massively wealthy, so in addition to posting Joseph’s “substantial” bail, Jim Bob is probably hooking him up with the keys to one of the family’s many properties.
Joseph stands accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl during a vacation to Florida in 2020.
He and wife Kendra Duggar are also facing child endangerment charges after a police search of their home revealed that their kids’ bedroom doors had locks on the outside, suggesting they were in the habit of locking their children in.
Kendra was allowed to make bail after just a few hours in police custody. She’s facing nine years in prison, while Joseph could be sentenced to as many as 34 years behind bars.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
