Former “19 Kids and Counting” star Josh Duggar, was found guilty on two criminal counts of child pornography and taken into custody on Thursday morning.
Duggar was convicted of knowing receipt of child pornography and knowing possession of child pornography after being arrested in April for downloading depictions of child sexual abuse in children as young as three-months on his work computer.
During the 7-day trial, prosecutors detailed how Duggar created “a separate computer on a computer” to get around an “accountability” program that was installed to monitor and block pornography on the device.
While his lawyers argued that the computer was not always in his possession, and other workers could have downloaded the horrifying cache of more than 100 images and videos, prosecutors cited that the password connected to the disgustingly illicit part of the computer’s hard drive was the same one Duggar used on other personal accounts.
A DOJ investigator said the computer contained the “most offensive” child sexual abuse and torture video that he had ever seen in his career.
Various members of the Duggar clan made appearances throughout the trial, including two of the sisters he molested as children, Jessa and Jill. Family friend Bobye Holt testified how Josh had previously admitted to molesting his four younger siblings, one who was only five-years old, when he was a minor.
Derick Dillard, Jill’s husband, said the couple needed to witness the trial for themselves. “We just wanted to, among other things, see the facts for ourselves,” he said, “America is the best country to get justice.”
His parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar released a statement following the verdict. “In the days ahead, we will do all we can to surround our daughter-in-law Anna and their children with love and support,” they said.
“As parents, we will never stop praying for Joshua, and loving him, as we do all of our children. In each of life’s circumstances, we place our trust in God. He is our source of strength and refuge. Thank you for your prayers.”
Duggar will be sentenced in four months and faces up to 20 years in federal prison and fines of $250,000 for each count.
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