Former reality TV star Josh Duggar convicted on child porn charges

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (TCD) -- Former reality TV show star Josh Duggar was convicted Thursday on child pornography charges.

According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas, Duggar was found guilty of possession of child pornography and receipt of child pornography. Prosecutors said in their statement that Duggar "repeatedly downloaded and viewed images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including images of prepubescent children and depictions of sadistic abuse."

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Duggar downloaded the files using a password-protected section of his hard drive on the computer he used at work. He allegedly used that to "download child sexual abuse material from the internet multiple times over the course of three days in May 2019." They allege he found the material on the dark web as well as other digital file-sharing software.

KNWA-TV reports he could face up to 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines for each count.

Duggar’s defense attorney Justin Gelfand said after the case, "We respect the jury’s lengthy deliberations. We respect the jury’s verdict and we look forward to continuing this fight on appeal."

The Former "19 Kids and Counting" cast member was reportedly taken into custody following the decision.

The 33-year-old Duggar was arrested in April and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

KNWA reports Duggar’s trial last six days and the jury deliberated for about seven hours following closing arguments on Dec. 8.

In 2015, Duggar reportedly admitted to cheating on his wife and said he had a "secret addiction" to pornography, KNWA reports.

According to The Associated Press, one of Duggar’s sisters revealed in an interview that Duggar allegedly molested four of his sisters and a babysitter when they were younger. One of the prosecution’s witnesses said during the trial Duggar allegedly admitted to her about molesting the girls.

In 2015, Duggar reportedly wrote on Facebook that he "acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret," NBC News reports.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas Clay Fowlkes called the case a "milestone for our efforts to combat child pornography and child abuse in our district."

He added, "It first and foremost shows that no person is above the law regardless of their status in society, regardless of their wealth, regardless of their fame. This fame shows that no person is above the law."

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