Josh Duggar Found Guilty in Child Pornography Trial

Posted on by

The federal jury in Fayetteville, Arkansas found the former reality T.V. star Josh Duggar guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography on Thursday.  

Duggar, 33, downloaded images depicting prepubescent children and sadistic abuse, along with other images and videos showing the sexual abuse of children, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas.  

Duggar knowingly received and possessed child pornography material in May of 2019. He was arrested in April by U.S. Marshals.  

He faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each conviction when he is sentenced.  

Ashley Stubbs, 20, of Milwaukee, Wis., said Duggar is disgusting and should be in prison.  

“Possession of child porn is on another level of disturbing crimes,” said Stubbs. 

Duggar appeared on the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting” which featured his large family. The show was canceled in 2015 due to claims that Duggar had sexually abused four of his younger sisters and a babysitter.  

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said this had been “very grievous” in a statement regarding their son’s guilty verdict.  

“Today, God’s grace, through the love and prayers of so many, has sustained us,” it read. “Our hearts and prayers are with anyone who has ever been harmed through CSAM.”  

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said they will surround their daughter-in-law and their children with love and support.  

Duggar shares seven children with his wife Anna Duggar. Their youngest was born weeks before Duggar stood trial. 

To avoid pornography-detecting software, Duggar installed a password-protected partition on the hard drive of his desktop computer at his used car lot in Springdale, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas. He then downloaded child sexual abuse material multiple times over the course of three days in May 2019. The password was the same one he used for his personal and family accounts.  

Duggar downloaded the child sexual abuse material through the dark web and online file-sharing software and would view it and remove it from his computer, according to the Western District of Arkansas U.S. Attorney’s Office.  

Duggar’s activity was detected by Arkansas law enforcement during an undercover investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas. Duggar’s desktop computer was seized along with other evidence when law enforcement searched his car in November 2019.  

“This case was a milestone for our efforts to combat pornography and child abuse in our district,” said Clay Fowlkes, the U.S. Attorney for Western Arkansas.  

Fowlkes said it is a milestone because it shows that no one is above the law.  

More than 7% of the cases sentenced last year in the Western District of Arkansas were child pornography and sexual abuse cases, according to Fowlkes. 

“Every time child exploitation imagery is shared, downloaded, sent via email, or saved, there is a victim,” said Billy Riggins, president and agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Fayetteville, Ark. 

Duggar’s siblings are releasing statements on the verdict, including Jill and Jessa Duggar who spoke about their brother inappropriately touching them when they were younger in a “Kelly File” exclusive interview in 2015. 

Jill Duggar Dillard, 30, and her husband Derick Dillard, 32, said the trial felt like a funeral in a statement on their family website.  

“Our hearts go out to the victims of child abuse or any kind of exploitation,” it read. “We are thankful for the hard work of law enforcement, including investigators, forensic analysts, prosecutors, and all others involved who save kids and hold accountable those responsible for their abuse.”  

Jessa Duggar Seewald’s husband, Ben Seewald, shared a statement on Twitter.  

“Our hearts break for Josh’s family, and we ask your continued prayers for them in the unfathomable grief and pain they are enduring,” it read.