On June 24, 2024, Josh Duggar's appeal was denied by the Supreme Court. The former reality star was convicted of possessing child pornography in 2021. The following year, he received a 12-year sentence for his crimes.
Josh rose to fame on his family's reality series 19 Kids and Counting. He is the eldest son of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, who raised their large family with fundamentalist Christian values. The series was canceled in 2015 when news broke of Josh's first legal troubles.
Josh's legal team's basis for appeal centered on his employee at his car dealership. This employee had a prior sex-offense conviction and was not allowed to testify at Josh's trial. The employee used the same computer as Josh, which was seized during the investigation.
Josh's team argued that the child sexual assault material found on the computer was not downloaded by the accused. The judge ruled that prior convictions were inadmissible. Before the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal, the lower courts had upheld the conviction.
During Josh's original trial, it was proven that federal investigators found child pornography on his work computer. A Justice Department representative testified and shared graphic details of these images and videos. Some of the children were as young as 3 years old. The Arkansas jury took seven hours to reach a guilty verdict.
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The 2021 case was not the first time Josh was accused of sexual crimes. In 2015, allegations were made that Josh molested teenage girls. Eventually, his parents admitted that this was true. Josh's parents admitted he had fondled four of his own sisters and a babysitter when he was a teenager. Charges were not pressed at the time. When the allegations came to light, the family's reality show was canceled. Josh expressed remorse for his actions.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
