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PANAMA CITY, Fla. (KNWA/KFTA) — Reality TV star Joseph Duggar was back in court in Florida on Tuesday after requesting amendments or dismissals of two court orders.
Duggar, 31, is charged with lewd and lascivious conduct by a person 18 or older, and $500,000 for the lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim younger than 12 (which is considered a “life felony” in Florida).
Joseph Duggar appears in Bay County Circuit Court on June 16 virtually (Courtesy: Fourteenth Circuit)
Joseph Duggar appears in Bay County Circuit Court on June 16 virtually (Courtesy: Fourteenth Circuit)
The former “19 Kids and Counting” star was in court via Zoom on Tuesday for a hearing on two motions to amend no-contact orders. One barred Duggar from having unsupervised contact with any child under 18.
Bay County Judge Brantley Clark denied the motion to dismiss despite the defense arguing that Duggar’s children are not the alleged victims in this case.
Attorney Joao Paulo Ferreira, who is representing the State of Florida in this case, agreed that although Duggar’s children are not the victims in the Florida case, they are in a case out of Arkansas.
A document filed in Bay County on June 16 said that Duggar can have contact with his children as long as it is supervised.
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The second motion was to amend an order barring Duggar from being within 500 feet of the alleged victim’s home.
Duggar’s attorney, Albert Sauline, told the judge that the alleged victim moved out of the house. Sauline also said that Duggar owns the property and needs to be able to work on it.
Clark denied that motion as well, stating that if any work needed to be done on the property, Duggar could send employees to complete the work.
Duggar’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 14 for a pretrial hearing.
Case background
The investigation began on March 18 when Bay County investigators were contacted by a Tontitown police detective regarding a report of past sexual abuse. The alleged victim told forensic interviewers the incidents occurred during a family vacation in Panama City Beach in 2020, when she was under 10 years old, at a rental home on Danny Drive, according to Bay County authorities.
She alleged Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap and, as the vacation continued, asked her to sit beside him on a couch beneath a blanket, during which he allegedly touched her inappropriately over and beneath her clothing on multiple occasions. Florida investigators allege the behavior stopped after Duggar apologized.
The day before investigators were contacted, the victim’s father confronted Duggar, who reportedly admitted the allegations in a phone call with a Bay County deputy and later repeated them to Tontitown detectives, according to an affidavit.
Duggar is free on a $600,000 bond.
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