Joe Duggar Makes First Appearance in Florida Court Following Child Molestation Arrest; Pleads Not Guilty & Asks to Not Be Treated Differently Due to His “Status in the Television Industry”

UPDATE! As of Tuesday afternoon, Joe has bonded out of jail. During his court appearance, Joe’s lawyer mentioned that Joe’s dad Jim Bob Duggar had flown into town on Saturday and was “ready to post bond” for him, so it’s no surprise Joe was sprung from the clink so rapidly after appearing in court.

Joe Duggar made his first court appearance Tuesday morning in Bay County, Florida, nearly two weeks after the former Counting On star was arrested in Arkansas on child molestation charges. 

During the hearing, the judge noted that Joe indicated in his paperwork that he did not want the court to appoint an attorney to represent him. She then acknowledged “Mr. Sauline,” who confirmed that he was Joe’s attorney and would be representing the father of four throughout the duration of the case. (It appears that the attorney is Albert Sauline III, a criminal defense attorney out of Panama City Beach, Florida.)

Mr. Sauline went on to ask the judge for “the most reasonable bond” for Joe, noting that Joe has “no prior criminal history, whatsoever, not even a speeding ticket.” He also stated that Joe was asking to be “treated as anyone else would, regardless of his status in the television industry.” 

A prosecutor for the State Attorney’s Office disagreed, however, and requested a “substantial monetary bond” be set due to the seriousness of Joe’s charges. The prosecutor also requested that there be no contact between Joe and the alleged victim, as well as no unsupervised contact with any other minors. 

While the prosecutor acknowledged that Joe does not have a criminal history, he argued that because Joe has “no ties to the community,” it would be easy for him to “leave quickly” and potentially not return for his next court appearance. Joe’s (unrelated) charges for Child Endangerment and False Imprisonment were also mentioned during the hearing, though Joe’s attorney informed the judge that these charges are pending and that “another family member”– aka Joe’s wife, Kendra– was arrested under the same circumstances. 

The judge ultimately set Joe’s bond at $600,000– $100,000 for the Lewd and Lascivious Conduct charge and $500,000 for the Lewd and Lascivious Molestation charge. Joe was also ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim– neither directly, indirectly, through a third party nor social media. He is also not permitted to have unsupervised contact with any minors under the age of 18.