Joseph Duggar Withdraws ‘Not Guilty’ Plea Along With Wife
Counting On’s Joseph and Kendra Duggar were expected to appear in an Arkansas courtroom for the first time on Monday, Aug. 10, but the couple managed to avoid the scheduled hearing.
The two withdrew the not guilty pleas they entered in April to four counts each of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree false imprisonment.
Instead, Joseph and Kendra submitted a plea by order, which allows defendants to enter guilty or no contest pleas without appearing in court, according to a spokesperson for the Washington County District Court who spoke with PEOPLE.
The judge assigned to the case will now sign an order accepting the plea and decide what penalties, if any, the couple will face. That could include prison time and fines.
Joseph and Kendra are facing 8 years if convicted
If Joseph and Kendra are convicted on all eight charges, each could potentially receive a prison sentence of up to eight years, along with thousands of dollars in fines.
The Arkansas charges stem from a March 19 search of the couple’s home conducted by the Tontitown Police Department and the Arkansas Department of Human Services. The search took place one day after Joseph was arrested in Florida on separate and unrelated charges involving allegations of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior by a person 18 or older.
Following the Arkansas home search, officials charged both Joseph and Kendra with endangering the welfare of a minor and false imprisonment. Police subsequently arrested Kendra and booked her into the same jail where Joseph was being held on the Florida allegations. She was released on bail several hours later.
Joseph remained behind bars while awaiting extradition to Florida.
“I can tell you the arrest was a result of a home inspection, and the door locks being on the exterior of the doors,” a source close to the Duggar family previously told PEOPLE regarding the Arkansas charges.
Neither Joseph nor Kendra have publicly addressed the allegations. Kendra has, however, retained longtime Duggar family attorney Travis Story to represent her, according to a jail phone call previously obtained by PEOPLE.
Locks On Outside Of Kids’ Doors is Normal In Duggar House
The Duggar family has previously spoken openly about having locks installed on the outside of bedroom doors in their Arkansas home. The family’s 19 children were reportedly divided between two bedrooms according to their biological sex.
It was well known Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar decided to lock their children in their bedrooms overnight after learning that their oldest son, Josh Duggar, had molested four of his sisters. The parents said the measure was intended as a way to protect their children.
After Kendra’s arrest, a court order temporarily prohibited her from having contact with her four children for nearly a month. That restriction was eventually lifted after Story submitted a motion asking the court to modify the order.
Joseph faces additional restrictions in his separate Florida molestation case. One condition of his pretrial release prohibits him from having unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18. His attorney also sought to have that condition changed, but the judge overseeing the Florida proceedings denied the request.
