Kendra Duggar informs incarcerated husband Joseph she’s hiring her own lawyer amid child welfare case

Kendra Duggar, the wife of 19 Kids and Counting alum Joseph Duggar, is looking out for herself following their arrests March 20 and March 18 on four misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child in Arkansas.

The 27-year-old homemaker told the 31-year-old Good Neighbor Realty broker, who was still incarcerated at the Washington County Detention Facility, that she was retaining her own lawyer ahead of their first court hearing on April 29.

‘I’ve been talking to Travis [Story]. I’ve got him as my attorney now,’ Duggar (born Caldwell) informed Joseph in a jail call obtained by People.

‘I wasn’t sure if you knew that, I’ve asked him to be my attorney…Well it’s not for you, it’s only for me.’

The Virginia native posted her $1,470 bond 90 minutes after her March 20 booking and fled with their four children – son Garrett, seven, daughter Addison, six, daughter Brooklyn, five, and son Justus, three – to a secluded private residence.

As of last Friday, the seventh child of former Republican politician Jim Bob Duggar was awaiting extradition to Bay County in Florida, but his exact whereabouts remain unknown.

Kendra Duggar, the wife of 19 Kids and Counting alum Joseph Duggar, is looking out for herself following their arrests March 20 and March 18 on four misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child in Arkansas (pictured in 2021)

Joseph is not only facing the same eight misdemeanors as his wife, he was separately charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor stemming from a 2020 incident in Florida.

The homeschooled Christian was accused by a 14-year-old girl of touching her underwear and genitals during his vacation to Panama City Beach when she was only 9 years old, and he admitted ‘his intentions were not pure’ to her father and a detective on the phone on March 17 – according to TMZ.

‘Jim Bob and Michelle are heartbroken over this entire situation,’ the Duggar Family said in a statement.

‘Right now, they are focused on loving their family and helping Kendra and her children during this difficult time. They are praying for the victim. They ask for privacy and appreciate the kind words and prayers offered by so many.’

The Counting On couple originally met through Lighthouse Baptist Church in March 2017 (she was 18), got engaged in May 2017 and wed in September 2017.

And while several Duggars have condemned Joseph over the arrest, his incarcerated eldest brother Josh believes he is being falsely accused.

‘Josh understands the stigma of being accused,’ his attorney told the Daily Mail.

‘He lives with the painful reality of how false accusations can destroy a life. He understands how the targeting of a person for publicity can twist the truth into sensationalized fiction.’

The attorney said that the brothers ‘are not in frequent communication’ but Josh ‘hopes and prays for his brother’s well-being in this difficult time.’

The 37-year-old convicted sex offender is serving a 12-year sentence at FCI Seagoville in Dallas, TX and his earliest possible release is October 2, 2032.

The 27-year-old homemaker told the 31-year-old Good Neighbor Realty broker, who was still incarcerated at the Washington County Detention Facility, that she was retaining her own lawyer ahead of their first court hearing on April 29 (pictured in 2021)

‘I’ve been talking to Travis [Story]. I’ve got him as my attorney now,’ Duggar (born Caldwell) informed Joseph in a jail call. ‘I wasn’t sure if you knew that, I’ve asked him to be my attorney…Well it’s not for you, it’s only for me’

The Virginia native posted her $1,470 bond 90 minutes after her March 20 booking and fled with their four children – son Garrett, seven, daughter Addison, six, daughter Brooklyn, five, and son Justus, three – to a secluded private residence (pictured in 2021)

As of last Friday, the seventh child of former Republican politician Jim Bob Duggar was awaiting extradition to Bay County in Florida, but his exact whereabouts remain unknown 

Joseph is not only facing the same eight misdemeanors as his wife, he was separately charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor stemming from a 2020 incident in Florida (pictured in 2021)

The homeschooled Christian (pictured in 2021) was accused by a 14-year-old girl of touching her underwear and genitals during his vacation to Panama City Beach when she was only 9 years old 

And while several Duggars have condemned Joseph over the arrest, his incarcerated eldest brother Josh (mugshot pictured) believes he is being falsely accused 

The 37-year-old convicted sex offender is serving a 12-year sentence at FCI Seagoville in Dallas, TX and his earliest possible release is October 2, 2032 

Josh’s 2015 molestation scandal prompted the TLC network to cancel his family’s realty show 19 Kids and Counting, which had previously aired for 10 seasons (pictured in 2015)

The disgraced father-of-seven – who used to hobnob with the GOP elite – was also forced to resign from his position as executive director of the Family Research Council (pictured in 2015)

Josh was convicted of ‘knowingly’ receiving pornographic images of children who were under 12 years old – including murderer Peter Scully’s video depicting the rape and torture of three young girls (one of whom was an 18-month-old toddler).

This, after the used car salesman’s 2015 revelation that he molested five minors (including his own sisters Jessa and Jill) and he’d been unfaithful to his wife Anna on the cheaters dating app Ashley Madison.

Josh’s molestation scandal prompted the TLC network to cancel his family’s reality show 19 Kids and Counting, which had previously aired for 10 seasons.

The disgraced father-of-seven – who used to hobnob with the GOP elite – was also forced to resign from his position as executive director of the Family Research Council.