What to Know
In March 2026, Joseph Duggar pleaded not guilty to charges of lewd and lascivious behavior in relation to allegations of sexual abuse of a minor in 2020. He had then been unable to have unsupervised access to the children he shares with wife Kendra Duggar. He appeared in court again, remotely this time, in June 2026, to address two motions he filed the month before in relation to the conditions of his release as he awaits trial for the serious charges.
According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Joseph asked that he be allowed to work on properties that would place him within 500 feet of his alleged victim. Be also filed a motion to be able to see his four children unsupervised. For Joseph, it seems to be a matter of fighting his limitations as he awaits trial. And the judge made the decisions on these matters pretty crystal clear for the former 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On star.
Joseph Duggar is ready to see his kids again.
During Joseph’s hearing, Bay County Circuit Judge Brantley Scott Clark denied Joseph’s request to have the conditions on his visitations with his children changed. Joseph wanted to be able to see his kids unsupervised and his attorney argued that the order in place “is creating a hardship for the family unit, as the Defendant has been unable to communicate with his own biological children.”
However, the judge explained, Joseph does have the ability to see his children. He is just not allowed to see them unless an authorized person is there to supervise the interactions. So, while Joseph’s defense has stated that he isn’t able to see his children and have a proper interaction with them, he is not totally barred from seeing his kids altogether.
Attorney Joao Paulo Ferreira of Florida argued during the hearing that Joseph’s kids are part of the ongoing case involving Joseph and Kendra in Arkansas. Therefore their kids will remain part of an order meant to keep them safe. After Joseph was arrested on the Florida charges, he and Kendra were both charged with four counts each of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts each of second-degree false imprisonment.
He was accused of some pretty terrible crimes.
In May 2026, Joseph was accused of abusing a minor who came forward to authorities at the age of 14 in 2026. The unnamed victim alleged, per NBC News, that in 2020, Joseph inappropriately touched her during a family vacation in Florida. The girl alleged that Joseph asked her to sit on his lap multiple times and that, at one point, he allegedly touched her genitals. She was nine years old at the time.
Because the child is a minor, her name has not been released to the public. As a result of the fallout regarding Joseph’s charges and then his and Kendra’s charges in Arkansas, the couple temporarily lost custody of their children. According to People, following Kendra’s release from jail, she was reunited with her children.
He also asked to be allowed to go on land where his accuser once lived.
Another part of Joseph’s hearing in June 2026 was a motion to allow him to work on property that is close to where his alleged victim lives. In regards to that motion, Joseph was also denied. Joseph’s pretrial for the molestation case in Bay County, Fla. is scheduled for July 2026, with a trial start date the following month.
Joseph Duggar’s pretrial in Bay County Florida is scheduled for July 2026. His trial begins in August. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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