Josh Duggar Arrested On Charges Of Child Pornography
Josh Duggar, former star of TLC’s "19 Kids And Counting," was arrested on Thursday and charged with receiving and possessing child pornography.
Duggar appeared in court virtually today and plead "not guilty" to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. The prosecution alleges that Duggar downloaded the material off the internet, "some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019," according to a press release.
Duggar's mugshot from Thursday.
If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.
The charges may not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the Duggar family. In 2015, Josh’s parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar revealed that Josh had admitted to molesting several of his young sisters and a babysitter when he was a teenager.
His sisters Jessa Seewald and Jill Dillard shared their side of the story in an exclusive interview with Megyn Kelly at the time. Josh did not face any prison time for the actions, although he did confess his crimes to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The statute of limitations had already expired when he confessed.
After the allegations went public, Josh resigned from his position at the Family Research Council. He then moved into real estate, where he recently was revealed to have been part of a fraudulent lawsuit.
His wife Anna is pregnant with their seventh child.