A reality TV star has now been found guilty on two charges, and so it looks like his fate has been sealed in the worst way possible.
On a Thursday last month in December, a jury found former reality TV star, political activist, and father of seven Josh Duggar guilty of two charges of knowingly receiving and possessing child pornography, also known as CSAM, child sexual abuse material.
Duggar faces as much as 20 years of imprisonment and $250,000 in fines for each conviction. However, since possession is a lesser included offense, he will technically only be sentenced for the receipt portion of the crime.
Duggar expects to be sentenced in four months.
Shortly after he was convicted, Duggar, 33, was led away in handcuffs by U.S. marshals — he paused to speak briefly to his wife, and it was evident that he was visibly distraught.
Authorities celebrated the guilty verdicts outside the courthouse. “A child predator has been brought to justice,” said Homeland Security’s resident agent-in-charge, Billy Riggins.
“First and foremost, this shows that no person is above the law,” Clay Fowlkes, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, told reporters beside Riggins.
Duggar’s attorneys said they are planning to appeal but they “respect the jury’s verdict.”
Duggar was facing trial in federal court in Fayetteville, Arkansas since last week with his wife Anna and other family members watching daily from the front row. Dad Jim Bob and others were in attendance on the Thursday that the verdict was read.
Afterward, they left in a group and did not speak to the press.
By the time the jury had begun deliberating, they had two separate portraits from the prosecution and the defense. Prosecutors claimed that Josh Duggar was a sophisticated criminal that did everything in his power to cover his tracks; the defense said that Josh was nothing more than a GED-educated man who was exploited and set up by someone else. Themes of “remote access” and the possibility of hacking were raised constantly by the defense throughout the trial. Nevertheless, he was found guilty on two charges.
In a statement immediately after their son was charged, parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said: “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 [his wife] Anna and continue to pray for their family.”
