Josh Duggar, former reality TV star from the TLC series 19 Kids and Counting, will be sentenced Wednesday at a federal court.
The eldest of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar’s nineteen children was found guilty of possessing and receiving child pornography on December 9, 2021, after a nearly two-week trial.
Prosecutors are seeking a maximum sentence of up to 20 years for Duggar. The 34-year-old’s lawyers have asked the court in Fayetteville, about 140 miles northwest of Little Rock, to send him to prison for five years.
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Duggar was arrested in April 2021 after local police found child porn files were being shared by a computer traced to him.
Investigation into the case showed that the files in his possession depicted the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers. These were downloaded in 2019 onto a computer at a car dealership Duggar owned.
In 2015, TLC canceled their much-popular show following allegations that Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier.
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The investigation was launched in 2006 after receiving a tip from a family friend. However, it was concluded that the statute of limitations on any possible charges had expired.
Duggar’s parents said that their son confessed to the fondling and apologized. When the allegations resurfaced in 2015, Duggar apologized publicly and resigned as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.
The controversies surrounding his personal life deepened when he publicly apologized for cheating on his wife and a pornography addiction, for which he sought treatment at the time.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks — who will sentence Duggar — denied his request for an acquittal or a new trial. Duggar got married to Anna Renée Keller in September 26, 2008, when both were aged 20. They tied the knot were married at the Buford Grove Baptist Church in Hilliard, Florida. The couple have seven children.
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Duggar’s wedding was featured in an episode broadcast on January 25, 2009, which included the planning, preparation, rehearsal, ceremony and reception.