Former reality TV star Josh Duggar, who was convicted last year of federal child pornography charges, will appear in court for sentencing in April.
Duggar was featured on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting.” The 33-year-old eldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar was found guilty on Dec. 9, after a nearly two-week trial in Arkansas during which prosecutors presented evidence he had repeatedly downloaded and viewed child sexual abuse material from a hidden part of his work computer over several days in May 2019.
His attorneys failed to persuade the jury of their version of events: that Duggar’s computer was either hacked or he had been exploited by someone else with access to his used car lot.
He was convicted of one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each count.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks on Tuesday scheduled Duggar’s sentencing for April 5 in Fayetteville, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock.
Federal authorities said they began investigating Duggar after a Little Rock police detective found that child porn files were being shared by a computer traced to Duggar. A federal agent testified that images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were downloaded in 2019 onto a computer at a car dealership Duggar owned.
Duggar’s attorneys have filed for a new trial or an acquittal. His trial attorneys had argued that someone else downloaded or uploaded the images onto the computer.
–Metro Voice and wire services
