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Disgraced former reality star Joseph Duggar is accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl in 2020.
Though he reportedly confessed twice, the father of four pleaded not guilty and is pushing ahead with his defense — which may force the young victim to testify.
Joseph’s legal team successfully convinced the court to grant access to investigators, so that his attorneys can grill child safety workers.
He has also asked the court to allow him to see his own children, arguing that the victim in this case is not his relative.
This is a small legal win as his team prepares for trial
TMZ obtained court documents showing that the judge is giving Joseph considerable leeway in his defense.
On Monday, May 18, the court ruled that the latest disgraced Duggar’s legal team may depose investigators as witnesses.
That includes people from the Department of Children & Families, the Child Protection Team, and the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Some of the records for these groups are usually protected by law — in the interests of continuing to protect children.
Yet, in this case, the agencies will have to turn over evidence — videos, audio recordings, and physical evidence — as part of the discovery process, for Joseph’s attorneys to review as they construct their case.
In general, it sucks to think of an accused predators attorneys getting hold of evidence only to try to get it excluded from the trial, or to find “experts” to testify that some piece of evidence is invalid.
But to deny them access to key evidence that the prosecution will use to build their case would violate Joseph’s rights.
(We know that that doesn’t sound bad. But we have to remember that some people accused of heinous things are innocent. We make no such claim about Joseph, of course.)
When prosecutors withhold potentially exculpatory evidence from the defense, it is called a Brady violation. You are not allowed to do that.
Just ask the prosecutor who went after Alec Baldwin a couple of years ago. How did that end? It’s not what anyone outside of the cult wants to happen at Joseph’s trial.
Joseph has not been permitted to communicate with his own children since early this spring.
His attorneys argue that, since the victim in this case is not one of his own children,
They also point out that, legally speaking, Joseph is considered innocent in the eyes of the law.
That means that, though people may condemn him and loathe him, the court must balance public safety with the rights of a potentially innocent man.
In response to Joseph’s request for the no-contact order to be amended, the judge scheduled a pretrial hearing for July, where the court will hear arguments.
Joseph is not the only member of his family to be in trouble with the law. And no, this time, we’re not referring to his incarcerated older brother, Joseph Duggar.
He and Kendra are both facing multiple charges of false imprisonment and child endangerment.
These charges stem from what investigators found when they searched the couple’s Arkansas house — a search that was automatic, in light of Joseph’s charges in Florida.
Both Joseph and Kendra have pleaded not guilty to those charges, too.
It’s unclear what arguments Joseph’s team will present at the July hearing, or how the court will rule.
But we know that the IBLP cult has historically instructed women to bring their children to see their incarcerated husbands — yes, even if the husband is a convicted predator. This is not exactly an unprecedented situation in the cult.