FayetteVILLE, Arkansas (AP) — Former reality TV star Josh Duggar will return to federal court Wednesday, where a judge can sentence him to 20 years in prison for possession and possession of child pornography.
Prosecutors are seeking maximum punishment for Duggar, whose extended family is the focus of the TLC reality show ’19 Kids and Counting’. His lawyers at the court in Fayetteville, about 140 miles (225 km) northwest of Little Rock, requested that he be sent to prison for five years.
Duggar was arrested in April 2021 after a Little Rock police detective discovered that child pornography files were sent to Duggar by a monitored computer. Investigators revealed that photos showing the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were uploaded to a computer in a Duggar car dealership in 2019.
TLC canceled 19 Kids and Counting in 2015 after allegations that Duggar abused his four sisters and a babysitter a few years ago. Authorities launched an investigation into the abuse in 2006 after receiving a tip from a family friend, but decided that the statute of limitations had expired for possible charges.
Duggar’s family said he admitted to the fight and apologized. After the allegations resurfaced in 2015, Duggar publicly apologized for the unspecified behavior and resigned from his lobbying position for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.
A few months later, he publicly apologized for cheating on his wife and receiving treatment for his pornography addiction.
While he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, prosecutors cited graphic images and the ages of the children involved, as well as the court’s statement regarding the alleged abuse of the Duggar brothers.
In their memorandum, federal prosecutors wrote that Duggar’s past conduct was “a disturbing indication of the extent of his sexual interest in children that the sentencing court should consider.”
“This past conduct, combined with the conduct for which he was convicted, clearly demonstrates that Duggar has a deep, pervasive and intense sexual interest in children and is willing to act accordingly,” the court statement said.
According to experts, prosecutors also realized that Duggar’s computer was hacked to bypass software installed to alert his wife of activities such as finding pornography.
“There is no indication that Duggar will take the necessary steps to change this pattern of behavior and eradicate his proclivity for underage women,” prosecutors said.
Duggar pleaded innocent and intends to appeal, his lawyers wrote in their criminal memorandums.
“Duggar acknowledges that he is before this court for sentencing and that this court must deliver a sentence,” his lawyers said. “This is justice. Duggar, however, also objects to this Court’s decision to commute this justice through mercy. ”
On Tuesday, US District Judge Timothy Brooks, who will sentence Duggar on Wednesday, denied Duggar’s motion for acquittal or a new trial.
Source: Breitbart
