Reality TV star Joseph Duggar held on $600,000 bond in child molestation case

By Canadian Press on March 31, 2026.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge on Tuesday ordered reality TV star Joseph Duggar held on a $600,000 bond following his arrest earlier this month on child molestation charges involving a child under the age of 12.

Judge Brantley Clark also barred Duggar, 31, from having unsupervised contact with any minor under 18.

Duggar, who starred with his parents and siblings in TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” was arrested March 18 in Tontitown, Arkansas, after police officers interviewed a 14-year-old girl who told them Duggar had molested her several times during a family trip to Panama City Beach, Florida, when she was 9.

The girl’s father told police in Arkansas that he confronted Duggar about the abuse, and Duggar admitted to it, an arrest affidavit said. Police officers in Tontitown had the father call Duggar with a detective on the line, and he again admitted to the actions, according to the affidavit.

Duggar waived his extradition to Florida, where he made his first appearance on the charges Tuesday morning. He remained in the Bay County Jail on Tuesday afternoon.

Duggar is charged with lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 12, and lewd and lascivious contact. Albert Sauline, a lawyer listed on court records for Duggar, did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Separately, authorities in Arkansas filed charges against Duggar and his wife, Kendra Duggar, 27, according to Tontitown police. The charges include four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment. The Duggar family has not responded to requests for comment about the charges.

Duggar’s older brother Josh Duggar was convicted in 2022 of downloading child sexual abuse videos. He was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison.

TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” followed the lives of devout Baptists Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar and their 19 children, all of whose names began with the letter “J.”

TLC canceled the show in 2015 following allegations that Josh Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier. Josh Duggar’s parents said he had confessed to the fondling and apologized.

Freida Frisaro, The Associated Press