Josh Duggar Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography Conviction
Josh Duggar has been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks handed down the sentence of 151 months in total to the 34-year-old former 19 Kids and Counting star on Wednesday at the Western District of Arkansas Federal Courthouse in Fayetteville.
Additionally, Duggar will require supervision for 20 years after his release and is prohibited from any unsupervised contact with minors, including his own children with wife Anna.
Duggar also must must participate in sex offender treatment and may not access or view pornography of any kind, including adult pornography.
He is not allowed any computer or electronic devices capable of photographic storage or internet access without prior approval by his probation officer, and internet monitoring software must be added to any devices he possesses.
The post release stipulation also include random searches for Duggar, who is prohibited from obtaining a medical marijuana card allowed and must submit to periodic polygraph testing at his probation officer’s discretion.
Josh Duggar remained stoic when the news was delivered, continuing to take notes on a legal pad for future legal proceedings after his legal team asserted earlier in the day that he still maintains his innocence and plans to appeal.
Josh’s father, Jim Bob, Anna, his siblings Joy-Anna (Duggar) Forsyth and Jason Duggar were present to support him.
Ahead of Duggar’s sentencing, he was found guilty in December of two charges of knowingly receiving and possessing child pornography.
On Wednesday, with the agreement of both the defense and prosecution, the court vacated the conviction on count 2 without prejudice. Judge Brooks noted that possession is a lesser included offense of the receipt of child pornography.
Judge Brooks further ruled that Josh did not knowingly distribute pornography and sustained the defense’s objection to that potential enhancement to Duggar’s sentence.
As a result of Wednesday’s vacation, Josh was facing up to 20 years of imprisonment and up to $250,000 in fines total (he previously faced that potential maximum sentence for each conviction).
Homeland Security arrested Duggar on April 29, 2021, for receiving and possessing child pornography. He was then held without bond in an Arkansas jail before being released one week later to designated third-party custodians, Lacount and Maria Reber.
Though the judge said she “cannot in good conscience” release Duggar to his then-pregnant wife Anna and their six children, he was granted “unlimited contact” to visit them provided that Anna, 33, was present.
Josh Duggar was prohibited from seeing any other underage children, including his many nieces and nephews. (Anna gave birth to their seventh child last November.)
