Joseph Duggar Has Been Extradited to Florida

Joseph Duggar has officially been extradited to Panama City, Florida, to answer for a child molestation charge. The Duggar son was just booked into the county jail on March 31, and his mugshot suggests it was a pretty rough ride from Arkansas. It makes sense that it would have been. Joseph has been in transit for several days. Here’s everything we know so far.

Joseph Duggar left an Arkansas jail cell on March 27

Joseph Duggar was transferred from a local Washington County detention center early on March 27. Official jailhouse records indicated that he was transferred to another facility, but no further details were initially provided. Duggar family critics largely assumed he was being transferred to Florida, and they were right. It just took him a bit of time to get there.

The drive from Springdale, Arkansas, to Panama City, Florida, is about 13 hours long. Joseph didn’t appear on another jail roster until the early morning hours of March 31, three full days after he left Arkansas. While it might seem like transport took a long time, it’s not uncommon. In fact, it can take days or even weeks, in some cases, for prisoners to be transported from one institution to another, with prison transport vans making circitous circles around the United States.

He was booked into the Bay County jail on March 31

Joseph Duggar might have left Arkansas on March 27, but there were apparently a lot of stops along the way. He was not booked into a Bay County jail until 7:30 am on March 31. According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, he was standing before a judge just hours later.

Duggar’s first hearing in Florida took place about two weeks after he was arrested in Arkansas. While he did not fight extradition, he was held in a Washington County detention center for more than a week before his transport. In that time, he spoke to his wife multiple times by phone, was visited by a lawyer, and was hit with eight additional unrelated charges, including child endangerment and false imprisonment. It is unclear when he might be prosecuted for those charges. The state of Arkansas will deal with those crimes.

He has already seen the judge and entered a plea

While Joseph has only just arrived in Florida, the state is wasting no time. Neither is the disgraced reality TV star. The 31-year-old real estate agent appeared in court via video link with counsel and has already entered a plea. Joseph pleaded not guilty to lewd and lascivious behavior with a minor under the age of 12 charges. He is requesting a trial.

The plea actually isn’t a huge surprise. It was extremely unlikely that he would plead guilty to such charges, despite allegedly admitting guilt in a phone call with the victim’s father. It is unclear whether the case will go to trial and whether the phone call with the unnamed victim’s father would be admissible as evidence. He will be formally arraigned on April 20.