Joseph Duggar has returned home after pleading not guilty to child molestation charges in Florida. The 19 Kids and Counting alum is back in Arkansas with his wife Kendra Duggar following his release on $600,000 bond, his lawyer Albert J. Sauline III told People.
The attorney also noted that Joseph, 31, is not with the couple’s four kids.
Indeed, a stipulation for Joseph’s release forbids him to have unsupervised contact with minors—including his own children—and any communication with the alleged victim who accused him of molesting her during a 2020 family vacation to Panama City Beach, Fla.
In addition to his charges in Florida, Joseph and Kendra, 27, are each facing four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment in their home state. Neither of them has entered pleas for those charges.
In a March 23 email sent to Joseph while he was awaiting extradition from an Arkansas jail, his sister-in-law Anna Duggar shard details on the aftermath of his and Kendra’s arrests.
The 37-year-old told Joseph that she had spoken to Kendra upon her release from police custody, saying that the mom of four sounded “strong on the phone call, except for when she talked about it being a month before she can see the kids.”
Office of the Sheriff Washington County, Arkansas
“My heart breaks for all of you,” Anna—whose husband Josh Duggar is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence on child pornography charges—wrote to Joseph, per Washington County Sheriff’s Office records obtained by E! News. “Kendra is an amazing woman—the Grace of God is flowing from her life.”
She also alluded to Kendra’s own legal predicament, writing, “I know she will win in the end… it just might take time.”
“Just remember, don’t talk about anything legal unless you are with an attorney,” Anna added in her email. “Everything said in these messages, phone calls, and video chats are recorded and turned over to prosecutors.”
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But Anna wasn’t the only member in the Duggar family to have emailed Joseph while he was behind bars. His dad Jim Bob Duggar also sent him a message, telling Joseph that he and Michelle Duggar “love you very much.”
“You have made some terrible decisions, but God has already forgiven you if you have asked him,” the Duggar patriarch wrote in a March 25 email. “You are just going to have to accept the situation at this point and it’s also fine to pray that God would have mercy on you, but you’re probably gonna face major consequences for several years to come.”
