A judge has signed off on a new plea by order that could allow for Joseph and Kendra Duggar’s child endangerment and false imprisonment charges to be dismissed.
According to the court documents filed in Elm Springs District Court in Tontitown, Arkansas, on Monday, August 10, and obtained by Us, Joseph, 31, and Kendra, 27, must abide by several conditions for one year in order to have their charges dropped. These conditions include maintaining good behavior with no other criminal offenses and following all court orders and directions of the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
Joseph and Kendra are also required to pay fines and costs totaling $1,850.
The pair were permitted to skip a court appearance on Monday after they withdrew their not guilty pleas and each submitted a plea by order to the court. The move allowed them to enter guilty or no contest pleas.
A review hearing will be held on August 4, 2027, after the one-year period is complete.
Us reached out to attorneys for Kendra and Joseph and the prosecuting attorney for comment.
In March, Joseph and Kendra were each 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. The charges stemmed from a search and safety inspection of the couple’s home conducted by the Tontitown Police Department and the Arkansas Department of Human Services following Joseph’s arrest on child molestation charges earlier in the month.
The inspection allegedly found that Joseph and Kendra had locks installed on the exteriors of their four children’s bedroom doors.
Kendra pleaded not guilty and was released on a $1,470 bond shortly after her arrest. She was initially required to avoid contact with her alleged victims, but in April a judge signed off on her lawyer’s request to lift the order.
Joseph, meanwhile, pleaded not guilty to the child endangerment charges in April and later requested that a no-contact order be lifted so he could see his kids. A judge denied his request for unsupervised contact with the children, ruling that supervised contact was permissible.
Prior to his and Kendra’s child endangerment case, Joseph was arrested on March 18 on separate charges of 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 after he allegedly touched a 9-year-old girl inappropriately while she was on a 2020 vacation in Florida with her family.
After he was extradited to Florida, Joseph pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial. Later that month, he was released on a $600,000 bond and returned to Arkansas.
Joseph’s alleged victim, now 14, has faced the situation with bravery, a source exclusively told Us in April.
“It took a lot for her to come forward, but she is not scared,” the source said. “She is strong. She doesn’t want to hide.”
The source continued, “When [the alleged sexual assault] happened, Joseph was on vacation with Kendra and her family. No other Duggar [family members] were there. … As years passed, [the alleged victim] understood more and got the courage to tell her family. Just like the police report says, when she told her family, they acted on it.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
