Former reality TV star Joseph Duggar waived his right to an extradition hearing in Arkansas on Friday, triggering his transfer to Florida to face child molestation charges.
Duggar, 31, was arrested Thursday in Tontitown, Arkansas, where he lives with his family. Authorities in Bay County, Florida, now have 30 days to transfer him from the Washington County, Arkansas, jail, authorities said.
Joseph Duggar is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior toward a child under the age of 12, according to an arrest affidavit filed by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Panama City, Florida.
Duggar, who many viewers know from TLC’s reality television franchise “19 Kids and Counting,” is facing new charges in Arkansas.
He was charged with second-degree false imprisonment and second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, according to the inmate roster at the Washington County Detention Center.
While specific details have not been released due to minor casualties, some reports mention the discovery of locks on the outside of children’s bedroom doors.
Online jail records also show his wife, Kendra Duggar, faces charges of second-degree false imprisonment and second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor. She was booked into the Washington County Detention Center and released on $1,470 bond.
The charges come nearly five years after Joseph Duggar’s older brother Josh was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images. The brothers and their family starred on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” which was canceled after Josh Duggar’s arrest.
TLC canceled the show in 2015 after allegations that Josh Duggar molested four of his sisters and a nanny years earlier. Josh Duggar’s parents said he admitted to the fondling and apologized.
In 2022, he was sentenced to approximately 12 1/2 years in prison in one case for receiving and possessing images depicting child sexual abuse.
