The Tontitown Police Department in Arkansas, United States, announced on Friday (US time) that 27-year-old Kendra Duggar had been arrested. Both Kendra and her 31-year-old husband, Joseph, have been charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of false imprisonment in Arkansas.
These new additional charges against Joseph come merely days after the former 19 Kids and Counting star was taken into custody on March 18 over lewd and lascivious behaviour involving sexual activity with a female victim, who is now 14 years old but was 9 at the time of the alleged incident, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
Tontitown PD said that while arrest warrants had been issued for the Duggars, Joseph was already being held without bail at the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on previously revealed child molestation charges. He is ultimately expected to be extradited to Florida as he’s facing his charge there.
Meanwhile, Washington County court records showed that his wife, Kendra, was arrested on Friday and her bond was set at $1,470.
What do we know about Kendra Duggar?
The 27-year-old is the wife of former US reality TV star Joseph Duggar, who, in turn, is the seventh-oldest of 19 children on the TLC series 19 Kids and Counting. She was arrested on March 20, according to jail records viewed by E! News.
Kendra and Joseph tied the knot in September 2017, just months after announcing their engagement in May 2017. They are currently parents to four children. Their wedding was featured in an episode of another TLC series centred around the Duggars family, Counting On.
According to a PEOPLE report, Joseph and Kendra crossed paths through church. Their wedding ceremony was held First Baptist Church in Siloam Springs, Ark. At the time of the wedding, Joseph was 23 years old and Kendra was 19.
Akin to how the series 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled in 2015 after reports suggested that Joseph’s brother, Josh, had molested five underage girls, the Counting On show was scrapped in 2021 after Josh’s child pornography conviction.
Why was Joseph Duggar arrested?
Kendra’s 31-year-old husband was arrested after Florida authorities said that a Tontitown police detective reached out to investigators about a past sexual abuse report, according to Fox24.com. Therein, a 14-year-old reportedly opened up during a forensic interview about incidents involving the former TLC reality star. These incidents are said to have happened during a family vacation in Panama City Beach when she was just 9 years old.
As per US report, authorities said this week that the now-14-year-old girl’s father confronted Joseph about the alleged incident, prompting him to admit his actions to the girl’s father and Tontitown detectives.
The case remains under investigation. Little information has been released publicly due to the involvement of minors.