A prison phone call between Kendra Duggar and Joseph Duggar offered more insight into their kids’ whereabouts after their parents were arrested on separate charges.
“I think Friday has probably been my hardest day, but that’s crazy to say because Wednesday was crazy hard,” Kendra, 27, told Joseph, 31, during a March 24 phone call from the Washington County Detention Facility, according to multiple outlets.
Friday referred to the day Kendra was arrested on March 20, which was two days after Joseph was taken into custody. While speaking to her husband, Kendra made it clear that their children are her main priority.
“But it’s just like, when you then take my babies from me, they were who I was just going to pour my life into,” Kendra, who shares four children with Joseph, told her husband before he cut her off to say the children are her “purpose right now.”
What to Know About Joseph Duggar’s Wife Kendra’s Arrest for Child Engagement
In a past phone call, Kendra mentioned that she heard their kids are “doing good.”
“I’m fighting for the kids, and they’re my No. 1 priority right now,” she added. “I just want you to know, through all of this, whatever happens, that’s who’s coming first. Then we’ll just see where the rest of it leads us and try to put the pieces together.”
Joseph agreed that Kendra “should be fighting for them the most.” While Joseph has been released from custody after being extradited to Florida on Tuesday, March 31, he is not allowed any contact with his kids as he awaits his trial.
The former reality star was arrested last month on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior involving molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older. Joseph was charged with an additional four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor in the second degree and four counts of false imprisonment in the second degree.
According to a press release from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, investigators were contacted by a detective from the Tontitown Police Department in Arkansas about a report of past sexual abuse. An alleged 14-year-old victim recalled several alleged incidents from 2020 involving Joseph when she was 9 years old.
After being moved from Arkansas to Florida, Joseph entered a written plea of not guilty and he also requested a jury trial.
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The State Attorney’s Office prosecutor argued during an arraignment in Bay County, Florida, on Tuesday that the allegations are “a serious charge,” adding, “We ask there be a no-contact [policy] in place with the victim, as well as no contact with any minors.”
The prosecutor continued: “While he doesn’t have a criminal history and no ties to the community … he was on vacation and stayed here a short period of time. … We ask for a substantial bond.”
The judge ultimately ordered that Joseph have “no contact with the alleged victim” and “no unsupervised contact with any minors under the age of 18.” His bond was set at $600,000 and he has since returned to Arkansas.
Kendra, meanwhile, was arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor on March 20 and subsequently released on a $1,470 bond. A source exclusively told Us Weekly that Kendra’s arrest had “nothing to do” with her husband’s case in Florida.
“After his charge, they automatically do a home study if minors live there,” the source shared. “Apparently, they had two rooms where the lock of the doorknob was on the outside instead of inside. They arrested her and took her kids for that, saying it’s evidence that she wrongly detains her kids.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
