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Could Joseph Duggar and Kendra Caldwell get away without punishment for their Arkansas charges?
Earlier this week, the embattled couple withdrew their not guilty pleas on charges of child endangerment and false imprisonment.
Now, it’s looking like they’re going to be able to weasel out of the charges altogether — if they follow court orders.
They also need to avoid any further trouble with the law. It’s unclear if Joseph can manage that.
Will the charges be dropped entirely?
The Ashley obtained court documents showing that the Arkansas judge signed a Diversion Order for Joseph and Kendra.
This means that the case will be postponed for one year, which will be considered an Advisement Period.
During this time, the disgraced former reality stars will essentially be on a sort of pre-probation.
They will have to comply with all of the terms of the court order.
Pending their full cooperation, the judge has agreed to drop the charges against them after one year.
“Defendant must not commit any new criminal offenses and must maintain good behavior during the Advisement Period,” the judge’s instructions read.
“If the Defendant completes the terms of this Order, during the Advisement Period, the State agrees to dismiss all charges in this case,” the court adds.
In addition to complying with the court’s instructions, Joe and Kendra must each pay $1,850 in fees before the Advisement Period ends.
They also must avoid further trouble. Well, more than Joseph is already in.
In the mean time, Kendra is allowed to see her children. It sounds like Joseph is still restricted to supervised contact only, which makes a lot of sense, given the charges that he’s facing in Florida.
The public remains largely in the dark
As far as the Arkansas case goes, there is still something of a shroud of mystery surrounding the charges.
It’s not that any reasonable person believed that Joseph Duggar and Kendra Caldwell were good parents. They are members of an abusive cult, after all. It takes a lot of education and deprogramming to be a good parent after a life like that.
What we know is that both parents were charged with four counts (each) of child endangerment and of false imprisonment in the second degree.
There was a report immediately after Kendra’s arrest, claiming that investigators — who automatically searched the home after Joseph’s arrest — discovered that the children’s bedroom doors locked from the outside, like prison cells.
That’s alarming all by itself. But given that the source was close to the Duggars, it’s unclear if that is the whole truth.
None of this touches upon Joseph Duggar’s charges in Florida.
He allegedly molested a 9-year-old girl in Florida back in 2020 during a bizarre vacation in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though Joseph reportedly confessed twice, including to police, he entered a plea of not guilty and seems prepared to drag that poor girl into a full trial.
It would be nice if Kendra learns from this, follows Arkansas department of Human Services advice, and perhaps becomes a good parent despite her membership in a toxic cult.
However, given the way that she’s clinging to her husband and the Duggars and seemingly cutting off contact with her family following Joe’s arrest, we won’t hold our breath.
We will, as always, feel deep pity for the Duggar children. A responsible society would never condemn them to be raised in those households.