Joseph and Kendra Duggar, stars of the reality series "19 Kids and Counting", have withdrawn their not guilty pleas in a child endangerment case, opting instead for a "plea by order" that allows them to plead guilty or no contest. The couple were arrested in March following an investigation triggered by a nine-year-old girl's allegation that Joseph had molested her while on holiday in Florida in 2020, a case that also saw him separately charged with child molestation offences.

Kendra, 27, and Joseph, 31, were each charged on 20 March with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment, after police and Arkansas's Department of Human Services searched their home the previous day and reportedly found locks on bedroom doors. Both had entered not guilty pleas in April but skipped a scheduled Arkansas court hearing this week after submitting the new plea order, leaving a judge to decide on any sentence or penalty. Joseph, who was extradited to Florida and released on $600,000 bail after pleading not guilty to separate molestation charges there, remains barred from unsupervised contact with anyone under 18; Kendra's no-contact order with the alleged victims was lifted in April, and she has since had supervised contact with their four children.