Joseph Duggar, a former reality TV star, waived his right to an extradition hearing in Arkansas, according to the Associated Press, which reported that the waiver set in motion his transfer to Florida to face a child molestation charge.
The AP report said Duggar, 31, was arrested Thursday in Tontitown, Arkansas, where he lives with his family, and that Bay County authorities in Panama City, Florida, now seek to move him from jail in Washington County, Arkansas. Authorities said they have 30 days to complete the transfer process. The Florida case centers on allegations described in an arrest affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
The affidavit, as summarized by AP, says Duggar is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving a child under 12 years old. The AP report also said authorities filed charges in Arkansas against Duggar and his wife, Kendra Duggar, 27, according to a statement from the Tontitown Police Department. Those Arkansas charges, AP reported, include four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment.
AP said the investigation began after Tontitown police officers contacted sheriff’s deputies in Florida on Wednesday. The officers reported that they had interviewed a 14-year-old girl who told them Duggar molested her multiple times during a family trip to Panama City Beach when she was 9, according to the affidavit. The AP report said the child’s father confronted Duggar this week and, in the affidavit, said Duggar admitted to the actions.
The AP account said Tontitown officers had the father call Duggar while a detective was on the line, and that Duggar again admitted to the actions. According to AP, the Tontitown Police Department said the investigation remained open, and it deferred further questions to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
The AP report added that there was no online court docket in Florida or Arkansas available on Friday related to the Duggar cases, and that no response came from the Duggar family’s media request website when inquiries were made Thursday and Friday. It also reported that TLC canceled “19 Kids and Counting” in 2015 following allegations involving Joseph Duggar’s older brother, Josh Duggar.
AP said the charges come nearly five years after Josh Duggar was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images, and the Duggar family and their extended cast had starred in TLC’s program “19 Kids and Counting,” which was canceled after Josh Duggar’s arrest. Josh Duggar was sentenced in 2022 to about 12 1/2 years in prison on one count each of receiving and possessing images portraying child sexual abuse.