Less than two weeks after Josh Duggar showed up for his pretrial hearing, the disgraced Counting On alum returned to court for his child pornography trial that will decide his fate.
On November 29, during an evidentiary hearing, Josh’s father, Jim Bob Duggar, appeared before the judge after he was subpoenaed by the prosecution to discuss his son’s past molestation controversy. A police report from 2006, which was obtained by In Touch in 2015, alleged that Josh (who was a teenager at the time) inappropriately touched five underage girls while they slept. His sisters Jill Dillard (née Duggar) and Jessa Seewald (née Duggar) later came forward as two of Josh’s victims during an interview with Megyn Kelly in June 2015.
When asked about the police report, Jim Bob claimed he did not “remember.”
The following day, the trial began. After nine hours of questioning by Judge Timothy Brooks and the attorneys from both sides of the case, 12 jurors and four alternates were selected.
A federal judge previously pushed back the date from Tuesday, July 6, to Tuesday, November 30, giving his defense team more time to prepare for the hearing.
Josh, 33, was arrested in April 2021 on one count of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, but if the judge does not acquit him, the TV personality faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each count.
The car salesman “allegedly used the internet to download child sexual abuse material,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas shared in a press release after his arrest. “Duggar allegedly possessed this material, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019.”
Josh’s request to be released on bond was approved on May 5, but he has been required to stay with his third-party custodians, Lacount and Maria Reber, who are said to be close friends of the Duggar family.
The father of seven has been monitored at the residence via GPS tracking since his release, while still having unlimited access to his children under the condition that wife Anna Duggar (née Keller) is present. He’s only been permitted to leave the Reber home to attend church, work, legal appointments and to seek medical care.
Anna, 33, was seen walking hand in hand with Josh during his pretrial hearing on November 18, putting on a united front following the arrival of their daughter Madyson Lily Duggar, who was born on October 28.
The couple are also parents to kids Mackynzie, 12, Michael, 10, Marcus, 8, Meredith, 6, Mason, 4, and Maryella, who just turned 2.
Josh’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, previously shared a statement about his legal troubles shortly after their eldest son’s arrest made headlines in April.
“We appreciate your continued prayers for our family at this time,” the couple told Us Weekly via their family representative at the time. “The accusations brought against Joshua today are very serious. It is our prayer that the truth, no matter what it is, will come to light, and that this will all be resolved in a timely manner. We love Josh and Anna and continue to pray for their family.”
Keep scrolling to see updates as the trial progresses.
Source: InTouch
