$600K Bail Twist — Joseph Is Expected to Soon Join His Brother Josh Duggar in Federal Prison

Joseph Duggar will go in front of a judge in Panama City Beach, Florida today. The 31-year-old former reality star will enter a plea pertaining to allegations that he molested a 9-year-old girl during a trip to Florida in 2020. Joseph is currently out on $600,000 bail as he awaits trial. But while Joseph might be a free man at the moment, legal experts believe he’ll soon be joining his eldest brother, Joshua Duggar, in federal prison.

One fact of the case that might be bad news for Joe is that he allegedly admitted that his “intentions were not pure” during a recorded phone conversation with the alleged victim’s father. “It is evidence of intent, the victim, and the timing of the alleged abuse,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News this week.

“His lawyers will try to argue that it is too vague and attenuated and try to get it excluded on that basis. I don’t think they will be successful because the statement was made in the context of Duggar also admitting to inappropriate touching under a blanket,” Rahmani continued, adding: “A judge is unlikely to separate the two statements, and this is why pretext calls like this can be so powerful if they lead to incriminating evidence.”

“During the vacation, the defendant asked the victim to sit on his lap, numerous times,” reads an affidavit obtained by Fox News.

“The victim would sit on the defendant’s lap. The defendant would cradle the victim with his arms. As the vacation continued, the defendant would ask the victim to sit on the couch beside the defendant. The defendant covered the parties with a blanket,” the affidavit continues. “The victim stated the defendant’s hand was outside of her underwear when these incidents occurred.

“The victim stated this made her feel uncomfortable and confused. The victim stated the defendant eventually approached the victim and apologized for his actions. The incidents stopped occurring after the defendant apologized for his actions.”

“‘My intentions were not pure’ is the kind of statement prosecutors love because they can frame it as a confession without the defendant ever fully confessing,” criminal defense attorney Duncan Levin told Fox News.

“It gives them language they can put in front of a jury and say, in effect, he told you himself. But from a defense standpoint, that phrase is still frustratingly vague.” Levin, who defended Harvey Weinstein at trial, added that while Joseph’s statement does not amount to a confession, it will make life more difficult for his defense team.

“It is not a clear admission to a criminal act. It could reflect shame, sinful thoughts or inappropriate intent, but criminal cases are supposed to turn on proof of conduct, not ambiguous language,” he said, adding: “The defense strategy would be to argue that prosecutors are trying to turn a morally charged but indefinite statement into something far more specific than it actually is, and to insist that the state prove the charged conduct with concrete evidence rather than asking jurors to fill in the gaps.”

Joseph is expected to plead not guilty at his arraignment today. We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.