RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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19 Kids and Counting ' s Joseph and Kendra Duggar have withdrawn their not guilty pleas in a child endangerment investigation that led to both stars of the reality series being arrested in March, stemming from an investigation that began after a 9-year-old girl accused him of molesting her in 2020.
Kendra Duggar, 27, and Joseph Duggar , 31, were both charged on March 20 with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment after an investigation, according to a release from local police. In April, both entered not guilty pleas. These charges came after Joseph Duggar was hit with multiple child molestation charges related to the girl's accusations. Related Stories News Joseph and Kendra Duggar Charged With Child Endangerment Amid Expanding Investigation News Joseph Duggar of '19 Kids and Counting' Arrested for Sexually Abusing a Minor
The charges against the couple were filed following a March 19 search of their home by local police and the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
The couple, who married in 2017 and have four children, were due to be seen before a judge in an Arkansas court on Monday but skipped the hearing after their not guilty pleas were withdrawn and a plea by order to the court was submitted. This legal move allows the couple to plead guilty or no contest to the charges. Now the Duggars will wait for the judge overseeing the case to determine if they will serve time or pay any penalties for the alleged crimes.
In April, Kendra Duggar's no-contact order with the alleged victims was dissolved. She has had supervised reunification with her children since. Joseph Duggar's pretrial release terms in his molestation case held that he is to have no unsupervised contact with any individual under 18; a judge rejected his attorney's attempt to dissolve this condition.
The case began to unfold earlier this year when Joseph Duggar allegedly admitted to a 9-year-old girl's accusation that he molested her while the couple was on vacation in Florida in 2020. Duggar was confronted by the accusing girl's father about her recent recounting of what happened six years ago, at which point police say Joseph admitted to "unlawful sexual contact."
Following his March 18 arrest in Arkansas, Joseph Duggar was charged in Bay County with lewd and lascivious behavior — molestation of a victim less than 12 years old — and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older. After being extradited to Florida, he pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial; Duggar was released on a $600,000 bond and returned to Arkansas.
During the police investigation of the couple's home following his arrest, investigators reportedly found locks on the bedroom doors. After Josh Duggar allegedly molested several underage girls, including his sisters, claims that surfaced in 2015, their parents reportedly put locks on the doors.
Josh Duggar is currently serving a more-than-12-year prison sentence for downloading child sexual abuse material.
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