Joseph Duggar Pleads Not Guilty to Child Endangerment and False Imprisonment Charges — Weeks After Shocking Arrest With Wife Kendra

Joseph Duggar has followed his wife, Kendra, in pleading not guilty to child endangerment charges, RadarOnline.com can report.

The charges are separate from the ongoing accusations against Joseph that he sexually assaulted a minor during a family vacation to Florida in 2020.

Joseph and Kendra were both charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment after authorities reportedly discovered locks on the outside of their children's bedroom doors during a routine inspection of their home following Joseph's Florida arrest.

"After his charge, they automatically do a home study if minors live there. They came to [Kendra’s] house," an insider previously told an outlet.

"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."

Joseph's plea comes almost exactly a month after he pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance in Bay County, Florida, where he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the sexual assault charges.

The 31-year-old appeared in a Florida court on March 31 via Zoom, after languishing in jail since his initial arrest on March 18.

At that appearance, a judge set his bond at $600,000 – $100,000 for the charge of "lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by an individual 18 years of age or older", and a whopping $500,000 on the charge of "lewd and lascivious behavior, molesting a victim 12 years or under by an offender 18 years or older."

As Radar reported, the alleged victim, who is now 14, told officers the reality star "groomed her" for days before sexually molesting her during a family vacation to Florida's panhandle, and detailed "several incidents of sexual abuse" she suffered at the hands of Joseph.

The teen told a detective with Arkansas's Tontitown Police Department that the more the television star interacted with her, the worse his behavior became.

She alleged that while together, Joseph would repeatedly ask her to "sit on his lap." He then reportedly progressed to asking her to sit next to him on a couch, while he "covered them with a blanket." During that time, the 31-year-old would allegedly "touch the top portions of her thighs and would inch higher and higher, closer to the victim's waistline."

She told investigators that these encounters happened multiple times, and "the defendant's hand grazed the victim's v-----" during each incident, leaving her feeling "uncomfortable and confused."

The victim told investigators that Joseph later apologized for his actions, and the alleged molestation stopped after that.

The alleged incident remained a secret for years, until earlier this month, when Joseph confessed to inappropriate contact during a conversation with the girl’s father on March 17, according to police.

Authorities instructed the detective and the victim's father to call Joseph again while law enforcement listened in. During that call, Joseph reportedly "admitted his actions," again, telling them "he touched the victim over her clothing," and acknowledged that "his intentions were not pure."