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.
Joe’s next hearing is set for April 20.
You can watch Joe’s full court appearance below.
Joseph Duggar just went before a judge in Florida for the first time since being extradited to the Sunshine State in his child molestation case. pic.twitter.com/Cyy0OQVh6W
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 31, 2026
(Photos: Bay County Jail; TMZ; TLC)
4 Responses
This is disgusting! He should be locked up with no bail. He admitted to what he did, so how can he plead not guilty? I hope they make an example of him and throw the book at him for full punishment. Jim Boob must be making some deals, wheeling and dealing, to get him out of jail.
“Please don’t treat me differently because I was on a tv show” LITERALLY WHO TF ARE YOU TO THE COURT?? I’m so fkn tired of reality tv / influencer freaks thinking they’re something special. People only cared about the duggars because they had so many kids. That’s so fkn normal in IFB and no one gives a shit.
And to tell the victims father and a detective that you did this but then plead not guilty is just going to drag this out. He’s not sorry about what he did. He’s sorry he got caught. The fact that he didn’t say anything until it was brought to light proves that. He deserves his fate
So he admitted to the victim’s father but now is pleading not guilty?
Are you kidding me does this disgusting inbred fool think he is some kind of celebrity ? I hope he is made sn example of and gets the max jail time and this costs him and his family mire money then he could ever imagine, this whole bunch makes me sick