Lifestyle

Josh Duggar Charged With Possession Of Child Pornography

by Valerie Williams
Washington County Sheriff’s Office/Getty

Josh Duggar has been charged with receipt and possession of child pornography

Former 19 Kids and Counting star Josh Duggar has been charged with receipt and possession of child pornography dating back to incidents in May 2019. He was indicted during a first appearance before the U.S. District Court Western District of Arkansas Judge Erin Wiedemann over Zoom earlier today.

KNWA News reports that if Duggar is convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000 on each count. He is currently in custody pending a May 5th detention hearing. If he is released on bond, Judge Wiedemann has stipulated that he have a third-party custodian who doesn’t live with minor children.

Court documents detail the charges and explain that Duggar allegedly downloaded child sexual abuse material from the internet, some of which depicts children younger than age 12.

Duggar was arrested by U.S. Marshals yesterday and booked into the Washington County Detention Center on a federal hold with no bail. The Department of Homeland Security is involved with the investigation and in November 2019, agents went to a Springdale business location where Duggar managed Wholesale Motorcars, a car dealership. The dealership has since closed and it’s not yet clear if Duggar was the subject of the investigation.

Barely a week ago, Duggar and his wife Anna announced they are expecting their seventh child, a daughter. In May 2015, Duggar issued an apology for his “wrongdoing” after a 2006 police report revealed an investigation into Duggar as a teen for inappropriately touching five underage girls. Two of his younger sisters, Jill and Jessa, later stepped forward as two of the five girls he abused.

He later issued another apology when news broke in August 2015 that Duggar had a profile on Ashley Madison and had cheated on Anna. “I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife. I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him,” he wrote at the time.

Duggar has pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.