Josh Duggar, star of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting, was sentenced to over 12 years in federal prison for collecting child por**ography. In December 2021, a jury in Fayetteville, Arkansas, found Duggar guilty and sentenced him on Wednesday.
Josh Duggar received a 151-month prison sentence and a 20-year probation sentence. He’ll do his time in one of two Texas cities: Seagoville or Texarkana, both of which have s*x offender treatment programs.
He’ll be forced to register as a s** offender and participate in a treatment program for the next 20 years, won’t be permitted to use an internet device without prior approval, and won’t be allowed to have unsupervised contact with youngsters, including his own. He’ll also be forced to comply with any DNA collection requests and won’t be allowed to consume marijuana.
Josh Duggar’s arrest
Josh Duggar, 34, was devoid of emotion when he learnt of his fate. Anna and Jim Bob Duggar appeared to be unaffected as well. In a pre-sentencing filing, prosecutors alleged that Duggar had a “deep-seated, pervasive, and violent s**ual interest in kids.” His defense team raised more than 20 objections to the report during the sentencing hearing.
Josh Duggar was arrested in April 2021 when a detective in Little Rock, Arkansas, discovered child porn files transmitted via a computer that could be traced back to him. Duggar, according to investigators, moved the images of minors onto a computer at a car dealership he owned in 2019. After allegations that Josh, the eldest Duggar child, had mistreated four of his sisters and a caretaker, TLC ended the Duggar family’s TLC program in 2015. When the charges came again, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said their son apologized for his conduct, but he was forced to address them again.
After straying on his wife and publically apologizing, he admitted to having a p****graphy addiction months later. He completed an addiction treatment program with flying colors. After receiving a report from a Duggar family associate in 2006, authorities became aware of his alleged abuse, but determined that the statute of limitations on any potential prosecution had run out.
After publicly apologizing for specific conduct, he resigned as a lobbyist for the conservative Christian organization Family Research Council. Anna pleaded with the court to show mercy on her husband in a letter dated March 7 so that she may “consider rejoining us as a family again soon.” Anna and Duggar have a total of seven children.
Duggar was found guilty when the jury agreed with the prosecution. The prosecution praised the decision, calling it a “important milestone” that demonstrates “no one is above the law, regardless of their rank or reputation.”
Justin Gelfand, Duggar’s attorney, stated, “We expect to appeal at the appropriate time.”
