Joseph Duggar was released after pleading not guilty to charges of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Dugger was not registered as an inmate at the Florida jail, according to the Bay County Jail website.
The former reality TV star’s attorney, Albert Sorin, told the AP that his client was released on $600,000 bail hours after appearing before a judge and flown back to Arkansas.
Court documents obtained by the outlet show that Judge Brantley Clark prohibited Duggar, 31, from having unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.
Thorline said his “number one goal” is to “make sure[Duggar]is treated fairly” because of his celebrity status.
Duggar was arrested in Arkansas earlier this month and transferred to the Bay County Jail in Panama City, Florida.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a March 18 statement that he was charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a victim under the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious conduct with a person over the age of 18.
Bay County Police say they were contacted by the Tontitown Police Department in Arkansas and learned of a previous sexual abuse case involving a boy who is now 14 years old.
The victim told police during a forensic interview that in 2020, when she was 9 years old, she allegedly got into several incidents with Duggar while her family was vacationing in Panama City Beach.
She claimed the “19 Kids and Counting” alum repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap and touched her genitals under a blanket while they sat on the couch together.
The victim also recalled that Duggar allegedly touched her thigh.
According to the affidavit, Duggar admitted to the victim’s father that he sexually abused the minor in 2020.
Duggar had been married to Kendra Caldwell for three years at the time of the crime.
The 27-year-old mother of three was arrested on March 20th. Caldwell and her husband were reportedly charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment over a room with a lock on the outside of the doorknob.
Caldwell and Duggar have four children.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
