When Joseph Duggar was in Arkansas jail, he spent 23 hours a day in solitary confinement.
His similarly disgraced brother, Josh, has spent time in solitary for various reasons — including after being caught with contraband.
Why did that happen with Joseph?
The newly disgraced Duggar is now roaming free on bond. It’s pretty reasonable for people to want answers.
Why was he held in solitary?
On March 28, authorities arrested Joseph.
He faces charges in Florida — where he has since curiously pleaded not guilty — over allegedly molesting a 9-year-old girl during a 2020 family vacation.
But, prior to his extradition to the Sunshine State, Joseph was in solitary.
Years ago, Josh Duggar had a contraband phone behind bars. Its discovery led to his solitary confinement.
A new report explains why Joseph was in near total isolation ahead of his extradition.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to E! News that Joseph was housed separately “for his own safety” before they shipped him off to Florida.
It sounds like this isn’t standard operating procedure — and has a lot to do with his (relative) fame.
“Due to Duggar’s social status and the media presence that is surrounding his case,” an officer logged on March 19.
The log continued: “I am placing Duggar on Administrative segregation in HC-4 for 7 days for his own safety.”
Joseph’s solitary confinement lasted for over a week, ending only on his Friday, March 27 extradition to Florida.
He and his wife are in a lot of trouble
While in solitary confinement, we know that Joseph read his faith’s holy book, the bible.
He also seemed to decline an offer for alternative reading material during one of his awkward phone calls with his wife, Kendra.
At the time, he appeared to be remorseful for his alleged crimes, having reportedly confessed twice prior to his arrest.
It is unclear if that has changed, or if his not guilty plea is a legal strategy to coax some sort of deal out of prosecutors.
He is currently out on $600,000 bond, barred from contacting any minors without supervision, and has even reunited with Kendra, who remains in hiding.
Both Joseph and Kendra are also facing charges in Arkansas.
They each face four counts of child endangerment and four counts of false imprisonment, both in the second degree.
Neither is permitted to contact their four children at this time.
Joseph and Kendra are both due in court on April 29.
Presumably, they will enter their pleas at this time.
Likely, he’ll end up in solitary again
Meanwhile, Joseph is due in court back in Florida sooner than that, on April 20. That will be his first arraignment.
If Joseph returns to custody on a long-term basis, he will likely need additional protective measures — including solitary confinement — for his own safety.
Sometimes, even violent criminals draw the line somewhere. One of those lines is at grown men who prey upon small children. Even the accusation that someone is a predator can lead to violence or death behind bars.
Our prison system should not be this way, and not only because we know that innocent people will end up behind bars.
But … none of that really has much to do with Joseph, does it? Or with Josh. Or with whoever is the next member of the family to be exposed as a monster.