Reality TV star Josh Duggar found guilty on child porn charges

Former reality TV star Josh Duggar, one of the mammoth Duggar brood, made famous by TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting reality show, has been found guilty of downloading and possessing child porn. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

The eldest of the family of 19, Josh Duggar was found guilty on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography on Thursday. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each count.

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TLC, which aired the ultra-religious Arkansas family’s reality show, was forced to cancel the show in 2015 when it became known that Josh had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter. 

Authorities had begun looking into allegations of abuse in 2006 after a family friend reportedly tipped them off, but ultimately decided the statute of limitations had been exceeded. Duggar confessed following the discovery, publicly apologizing for cheating on his wife, hiding a pornography addiction, and otherwise being “the biggest hypocrite ever.” 

The child porn case was uncovered when a Little Rock police detective found sexual images of children, including toddlers, being shared on a computer used by Duggar. Another agent testified that images of sexual abuse of children had been downloaded onto a computer at a car dealership owned by Duggar. 

While the reality star’s lawyer insisted someone else had uploaded or downloaded the images in order to frame Duggar, the jury apparently did not buy that story.

The 33-year-old Duggar will be sentenced in approximately four months. His trial took six days, with just two witnesses called for the defense and ten for the prosecution. 

Meanwhile, Duggar’s father Jim Bob is running for a vacant Arkansas State Senate seat in the northwest part of the state.