Joseph Duggar was granted supervised visitation with his children during a court hearing in his child sexual abuse case.
Judge Brantley S. Clark ruled Tuesday during a virtual appearance in a Bay County, Florida, courtroom that the “19 Kids and Counting” alum may have supervised contact with himself and Kendra Duggar’s four children, according to court documents obtained by Page Six.
The reality TV star has not been able to see his children since he was arrested on sexual abuse charges in March.
His attorney, Albert Soline, argued that language in a previous complaint prohibiting contact with minors prevented him from seeing his children. According to reports, the lawyer argued that it was “a bit unusual” for Joseph to be banned from seeing his children even though he was not the victim of the incident.
Joseph, 31, also asked for an amendment to a motion barring him from standing within 500 feet of the alleged victim’s former home in Florida, explaining that the ban would interfere with his ability to perform his job as a local landlord.
But the judge denied the request, saying employees could be held liable in that area.
The next court date is scheduled for July 14th.
In March, the TLC talent was arrested out of state for allegedly sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl in Florida.
He was charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a victim under the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious acts with a victim over the age of 18.
Joseph was then taken to the Washington County Correctional Facility in Arkansas. In a mugshot obtained by Page Six on March 19, Joseph appeared disheveled after his arrest.
The “Counting On” star has been accused of grooming and sexual assault by a minor, who is now 14 years old, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The alleged victim told investigators that Joseph repeatedly “grazed (her) vagina” with his hand during a family vacation in 2020. At times, the accuser would “sit on the defendant’s lap” and “hold her in his arms,” the affidavit said.
The alleged victim said the sexual assaults occurred “several times.” However, the incident “no longer occurred” after Joseph allegedly “approached the victim” and “apologized for his actions” while on the run, the affidavit states.
Days after Joseph’s arrest, Kendra was arrested in Arkansas on March 20 and charged with four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment.
Joseph was also charged with the same charges.
Page Six obtained footage of Kendra being beaten while in jail shortly after her release. Both charges are pending.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call our Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
