Florida Judge Brantley Clark confirmed during a scheduled pretrial hearing on Tuesday that Joseph Duggar’s child molestation case will continue in early 2027, KNWA News reports.
As you know, the 31-year-old was arrested in March after a young girl disclosed in a forensic interview that she had allegedly been sexually abused by the former TLC star while on a family vacation in Florida in 2020. (The girl was nine-years-old at the time.) Joe is facing charges of lewd and lascivious conduct by a person 18 or older and lascivious molestation of a victim younger than 12.
Joe has pleaded not guilty to both charges. He is currently out on a $600,000 bail and living in Arkansas.
The former ‘Counting On’ star was not present at Tuesday’s scheduled pretrial hearing– nor was he legally required to be– though his attorney, Albert Sauline, appeared on his behalf.
As The Ashley previously reported, due to motions filed by Joe in May being improperly redacted, it was basically revealed that Joe’s alleged victim is a member of his wife Kendra’s immediate family. (Kendra’s parents, Christina and Paul Caldwell, have also spoken out against their son-in-law since his arrest.)
Although the next pretrial hearing isn’t set to take place until March, there have been other developments in the case in recent weeks. Last month, Page Six reported that prosecutors disclosed a private phone recording among new evidence in the criminal proceedings. While the recording was turned over to Joe’s legal team as part of newly disclosed discovery, the contents of the phone recording remain unknown. That same day, prosecutors added Maggie Williams, an individual affiliated with the Children’s Safety Center of Washington County, to their witness list.
Just this week, an Amended Notice of Taking Deposition was filed, which listed the four individuals who are slated to speak about the case with Joe’s attorney and Joao Ferreira (who is representing the State of Florida) and give depositions on February 12. The list includes Investigator Darrell “Chase” Norris, Paul Caldwell, Thomas Lowe, and Maggie Williams. The filing notes that the latter three individuals will be giving their deposition telephonically.
(Kendra’s dad being called to give a deposition was expected, as Joe allegedly confessed to his crimes when the father of the victim confronted him back in March. Joe reportedly confessed again while on the phone with detectives before his arrest.)
A pretrial hearing has been set for March 9.
As you may recall, days after Joe was arrested for the alleged molestation crimes in Florida, he and Kendra were both arrested in Arkansas for crimes against their four children. Each received four counts of false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child.
In August– one day after Joe and Kendra filed to change the “not guilty” pleas they entered in April– a judge signed a Diversion Order in both Joe and Kendra’s criminal court cases, pushing the cases for a period of one year. During that time, both cases will remain under an Advisement Period; if the husband and wife comply with all terms of the court order during the Advisement Period, the judge has agreed to drop the charges against them.
RELATED STORY: Jessa Duggar Reveals Why She Won’t Write a Tell-All Book While Seemingly Throwing Shade at Sister Jill & Jinger for Doing So
(Photos: YouTube; Instagram; TLC)
