Josh Duggar found guilty of child pornography charges; Dillard family reacts

Josh Duggar, the former US reality TV star, was found guilty on Thursday for downloading and having child sex abuse photos on his work computer. The 33-year-old Duggar was convicted of acquiring and possessing child pornography by a federal jury in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Upon his conviction, he may receive up to 20 years of imprisonment and penalties of up to $250,000 for each offence, NBC News reported. 

The United States District Judge Timothy Brooks indicated that sentence will proceed in roughly four months. According to Fayetteville station KNWA, Duggar was arrested after the judgement was delivered. Josh was apprehended in April and later pleaded not guilty to counts of receiving and possessing evidence relating to child sexual abuse.  

Josh Duggar convicted

As per the PEOPLE magazine, in the year 2019, on May 14, 15, and 16, the former reality TV star was charged with downloading videos showing child sexual assault on the internet at his former workplace. He had previously faced a child molestation controversy relating to his actions as a teenager. Throughout Josh's seven-day trial, the prosecution claimed that Josh was the only person who could have conducted the alleged offences on the computer in question, while the defence claimed that others might have been involved. 

Dillard family statement

Furthermore, Derick Dillard, who is married to Josh’s sister Jill Duggar, informed PEOPLE magazine outside the courtroom after the judgement was read, why he and his wife Jill had attended certain sections of the trial. "We just wanted to, among other things, see the facts for ourselves. America is the best country to get justice," PEOPLE quoted Dillard.   

Josh Duggar family statement

During the trial, apart from Derick and Jill, several other relatives of Josh's family, along with his wife Anna, father Jim Bob, and siblings Justin, Jessa, and Joy-Anna were in the courtroom, in addition to Jill and Derick. Austin Forsyth, Joy- Anna's husband, was also present. Meanwhile, neither Anna nor Jim Bob has made a public remark on Josh Duggar's imprisonment. Some family members were seen on camera by 5News (through YouTube) as they left the courtroom following the decision, but they did not talk to the media, as per the Cheatsheet. 

The Duggar family gained prominence because of their TLC show "19 Kids and Counting," which followed Arkansas parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's personal lives. Josh is the oldest of their children. After a sexual abuse controversy including claims that he had assaulted four of his sisters and a nanny while he was a young adolescent, TLC canceled "19 Kids and Counting" in 2015. He acknowledged having a pornographic addiction and cheating on his wife at the time, and he apologised, USA Today reported.

(Image: AP)