Joseph Duggar, the former TLC reality television personality, was released from a Florida jail Tuesday after posting $600,000 bond following a first court appearance on child molestation charges, his attorney confirmed.
Bay County investigators were first contacted on March 18 by a Tontitown Police Department detective who had received a report of past sexual abuse.
The alleged victim told Arkansas authorities that Duggar repeatedly pressured her to sit on his lap throughout the vacation. According to the Bay County Sheriff's Office, officials described what followed: "As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket. During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim's underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs."
The girl also told authorities that Duggar later apologized and the misconduct stopped.
The victim's father confronted Duggar directly about the abuse before law enforcement became involved, and Duggar admitted to it. Tontitown detectives then had the father call Duggar again—with a detective listening in—and Duggar once again acknowledged the abuse.
At his first court appearance in Florida on Tuesday, Judge Brantley Clark barred Duggar from having unsupervised contact with any person under 18, according to court documents. His attorney, Albert Sauline, said Duggar posted bond and was scheduled to fly back to Arkansas later that day.
"Our No. 1 goal is to make sure he is treated fairly," especially because of his celebrity status, Sauline said.
Duggar faces charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12 years old and lewd and lascivious contact by a person 18 or older.
Separately, Arkansas authorities filed additional charges against Duggar and his wife, Kendra Duggar, 27, including four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment, according to Tontitown police.
The case marks the second major criminal matter to engulf the famous family. The show, which ran for 10 seasons starting in 2008, was canceled by TLC in 2015 after allegations surfaced that Josh Duggar—Joseph's older brother and the family's eldest child—had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier. Josh Duggar's parents said he had confessed to the fondling and apologized.
Joseph Duggar is the seventh of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's 19 children and is the father of four children with his wife, Kendra.