Josh Duggar convicted of downloading and possessing child pornography

Former reality TV star Josh Duggar was immediately arrested Thursday after a federal jury found him guilty of downloading and possessing child pornography.

A jury in Fayetteville, about 140 miles northwest of Little Rock, convicted Duggar, 33, on one count of receiving and possessing child pornography. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $ 250,000 on each count when convicted.

“Regardless of wealth, social status or fame, our office will continue to seek out anyone who seeks to abuse and victimize children through the downloading, possession and sharing of child pornography,” the prosecutor said. American Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas. , who continued the case.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks has said sentencing will be handed down in about four months, Fayetteville KNWA broadcaster reported.

"We respect the jury's verdict and look forward to continuing this fight on appeal," said Justin Gelfand, one of Duggar's defense attorneys.

Duggar and his large Arkansas family starred in TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" until the network canceled the show in 2015 following revelations he had assaulted four of his sisters and a baby. -sitter. Authorities began investigating the abuse in 2006 after receiving a tip from a family friend, but concluded that the statute of limitations on any possible charges had expired.

Duggar's parents said he confessed to the touching and apologized. At the time, Duggar publicly apologized for unspecified behavior and resigned as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.

Duggar later apologized for his porn addiction and for cheating on his wife, calling himself "the greatest hypocrite of all time."

The judge in the child pornography case ruled jurors could hear testimony about how, in 2003, Duggar admitted to assaulting four girls. A family friend testified that Duggar told him about the abuse.

Federal officials said they began investigating after a Little Rock Police detective discovered child pornography files being shared by a computer attributed to Duggar. A federal agent said in May that images depicting sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were uploaded in 2019 to a computer at a Duggar-owned car dealership.

Duggar's attorney argued that someone else had downloaded or downloaded the images to Duggar's computer. But the jury was not swayed.

Duggar's father Jim Bob Duggar, who also starred on the reality show, is running as a special election for a vacant seat in the Northwest Arkansas State Senate, and the primary elections for that race take place on Tuesday. He previously served in Arkansas House.