Former reality-TV star Josh Duggar convicted of child-pornography possession

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Former reality-TV star Josh Duggar convicted of child-pornography possession
Josh Duggar speaks during the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel and Convention Center on February 28, 2015 in National Harbor, Maryland.Kris Connor/Getty Images
  • A jury has found Josh Duggar guilty of child-pornography possession.
  • Prosecutors said he downloaded known child-sexual-abuse material in May 2019 via his work computer.
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A federal jury in Arkansas on Thursday convicted the former reality-TV star Josh Duggar of possession of child pornography.

The 33-year-old, who rose to fame on TLC's "19 Kids and Counting," had pleaded not guilty to two counts of receiving and possessing child pornography.

He now faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each conviction, according to US Sentencing Commission guidelines. Judge Timothy L. Brooks said sentencing would happen in about four months, KNWA reported.

Prosecutors had accused Duggar of downloading and streaming known child-sexual-abuse material in May 2019 via a desktop computer at the used-car dealership he owned. One federal agent testified some of that material involved children under the age of 12, including an infant.

Former reality-TV star Josh Duggar convicted of child-pornography possession
Former television personality on "19 Kids And Counting" Josh Duggar poses for a booking photo after his arrest April 29, 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.Washington County Jail via Getty Images

A number of law-enforcement officials and experts testified during the seven-day trial about the various disturbing images and videos found on Duggar's computer and the measures they said he took to evade detection. The witnesses said Duggar had partitioned his work computer's hard drive so that he could dodge the anti-pornography "accountability" software that reported all of his internet activity to his wife.

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Duggar's defense attorneys made the case that someone else remotely accessed Duggar's computer and downloaded the images of child sexual abuse. They presented their own forensic investigator who suggested Duggar had been the victim of a "hit and run" hacking scheme.

An old child-molestation scandal resurfaced during the trial as prosecutors sought to portray Duggar as a habitual child predator. One witness, an old family friend of the Duggars, testified that Duggar had personally confessed to her years prior that he had fondled four of his sisters both over and under their clothes.

While Duggar was never charged over those allegations, Brooks ruled that they were fair game for prosecutors to discuss at trial — especially since his sisters had been the same age as some of the victims in the material he possessed.

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