One day after news broke that Josh Duggar was arrested in Arkansas, Us Weekly confirmed that he was indicted on child pornography charges.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas revealed the nature of the charges in a press release on April 30.
“A Springdale man was arrested yesterday for receiving and possessing material depicting the sexual abuse of children,” the release began. “According to court documents, Joshua James Duggar, 33, allegedly used the internet to download child sexual abuse material. Duggar allegedly possessed this material, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019.”
Josh, the eldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, was detained without bond. The news came days after his wife, Anna Duggar, announced that the pair are expecting their seventh child.
“It’s a GIRL!!!!!” Anna wrote via Instagram on April 24. “We are overjoyed to announce baby seven is on the way and we can’t wait to hold her in our arms this fall!”
The twosome, who wed in 2008, share six kids: Mackynzie (born October 2009), Michael (June 2011), Marcus (June 2013), Meredith (July 2015), Mason (September 2017) and Maryella (November 2019)
Josh is no stranger to controversy. Back in 2015, he made headlines when resurfaced court documents revealed he molested five girls — four of which were related to him — between 2002 and 2003. He was 14 and 15 years old at the time.
“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends,” he said in a statement via Facebook at the time. “We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.”
Josh and Anna’s marriage hit another rough patch that August after his Ashley Madison account was revealed. He subsequently sought treatment and the couple began counseling.
“Since the residential treatment program ended, we have been working with a professional marriage and family counselor to take important steps toward healing,” Josh and Anna wrote in a statement in March 2016. “As the future unfolds, we are taking one day at a time and we are grateful for your continued prayers for both of us and our sweet children.”
Anna has yet to publicly comment on her husband’s recent arrest. Scroll through for everything we know about the case so far:
This is an ongoing article that was originally published on April 30, 2021, and last updated on September 28, 2021.
Us confirmed on April 29 that Josh was arrested and taken into custody at the Washington County jail in Arkansas.
Washington County Police Dept.
Josh is currently being held without bond, but he can request to be released during a May 5 hearing.
“I will also advise you that any proposed third-party custodian, it would need to be in a residence, where there are no minors in the home,” the judge told Josh and his lawyer on April 30. “So, you all would need to be looking for somebody that will ensure compliance with conditions of release and can ensure to the court that there are no minors in the home, or that would be visiting unsupervised.”
Courtesy Josh Duggar/Twitter
“Duggar is charged by indictment with receiving and possessing child pornography,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s press release read. If he’s found guilty, the reality TV personality faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each count.
Courtesy Josh Duggar/Twitter
While Josh’s trial is set to begin July 6, pretrial proceedings are scheduled to start on July 1.
Danny Johnston/AP/Shutterstock
“We appreciate your continued prayers for our family at this time,” Jim Bob and Michelle said in a statement to Us via their family rep on April 30. “The accusations brought against Joshua today are very serious. It is our prayer that the truth, no matter what it is, will come to light, and that this will all be resolved in a timely manner. We love Josh and Anna and continue to pray for their family.”
Josh’s sister Jill Duggar and her husband, Derick Dillard, who aren’t on the best terms with the family, released a statement of their own, reading, "We just found out this information yesterday. It is very sad."
Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo later took to Instagram to react: “We are disturbed to hear of the charges against Josh. "While this case must go through the legal system, we want to make it clear that we absolutely condemn any form of child abuse and fully support authorities and judicial process in their pursuit of justice."
Courtesy Josh Duggar/Twitter
Josh was granted a release on bond for May 6 following his May 5 virtual hearing. The judge, however, stated that he could not return home because there are “six minor children that live in your house.” His other release conditions include unlimited contact with his kids as long as his wife is present. The reality star cannot be around any other children, however, and will be monitored via GPS whenever he leaves the home confinement at pastor Lacount Reber and Maria Reber's home, where he is staying. He can go to church, work, legal appointments and receive medical care.
Courtesy of Anna Duggar/Instagram
Josh’s attorney filed a motion on June 17, asking for his trial to be pushed from its July 2021 start to February 2022, claiming it will take that long for their forensic expert to go through the devices that contain evidence pertaining to the case. The lawyer also claimed that Josh’s team did not receive some of the additional discovery files from prosecutors, including reports from outside investigators who are also involved in the case, which they will need time to review before going to court.
“Remarkably, the Government also recently disclosed — for the first time and only by way of a screenshot of an unidentified database — that two other Arkansas state law enforcement agencies allegedly participated in this investigation at least in a minimal capacity,” the attorney wrote in the court documents obtained by Us. “The search warrant applications make no reference to these agencies, the Special Agent’s testimony at the detention hearing made no mention of these agencies, and the remainder of the discovery does not reveal which agencies participated and what, if anything, these agencies did.”
Documents obtained by Us in June 2021 confirmed that a judge signed off on Josh's request to move the trial date back — but only by four months. Pretrial proceedings were rescheduled to November 18, 2021, with the trial beginning on November 30.
Courtesy of Anna Duggar/Instagram
Josh's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss two of the charges against him — including one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography — claiming in August 2021 court docs that prosecutors failed to preserve evidence that could potentially prove his innocence. Another motion requested to dismiss the indictment because two acting secretaries at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had not been officially appointed at the time of Josh's investigation.
Courtesy of Anna Duggar/Instagram
In September 2021, federal prosecutors filed a response to the defendant’s motion one month prior, in which Josh’s legal team asked a judge to suppress “photographs law enforcement took of Duggar’s hands and feet while requiring him to pose for the photographs in custody.” His attorneys are claiming that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigators did not have a warrant, so they should not have been allowed to take those pictures.
However, the federal prosecutors on the case claimed in their September filing that there is no basis for a judge to dismiss the case against the TV personality or suppress any evidence, including photos of his hands taken during his arrest.
"While the defendant was being processed as he was taken into custody, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (‘HIS’) asked the defendant if he could photograph the defendant’s hands. The defendant expressly consented to having the photographs taken,” the filing states. “At no time during this process did the special agent or any other law enforcement officers involved in the processing of the defendant raise their voice at him, intimidate him, or verbally or physically threaten him. The photographs document a scar on the defendant’s hand, which is plainly visible. Law enforcement observed the same scar in images recovered from the defendant’s electronic devices seized pursuant to a search warrant in this case."
A court hearing has been set for October 4, 2021, where both sides can discuss the various motions that Josh and his legal team filed to suppress evidence, including the pictures that investigators took at the time of his arrest.
YouTube
In September 2021, a judge denied four of Josh’s five motions in the child pornography case, including the motion to suppress statements that the TV personality allegedly made to federal agents during the investigation.
The defense’s motion to dismiss the case entirely was also denied, as was their attempt to suppress photographs taken of their client’s hands and feet at the time of his arrest. The motion to dismiss the indictment because of who was in charge of the Department of Homeland Security at the time was also rejected. The fifth motion, which is tied to suppressing evidence, hasn’t been ruled on by a judge.
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