Josh Duggar Charged with Receiving & Possessing Child P0rn; Former “19 Kids & Counting” Star Pleads Not Guilty (Live Updates)

Josh Duggar has been formally charged receiving and possessing child p0rnography.

The disgraced former 19 Kids and Counting star had his first court hearing (via Zoom) on Friday, where he entered a plea of not guilty via his attorneys. Arkansas news station KNWA reported that court records indicate that Josh allegedly downloaded child sexual abuse material on the Internet. In addition, he allegedly possessed this material, “some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12,” the news station states.

Josh, who is the father of six children and has another one on the way with his wife Anna, will be behind bars until his May 5 detention hearing.

After that, Josh would have to have a “third-party custodian” supervise him should he be released on bond. In addition, the judge demanded that Josh not be allowed to live in a house that has minor children residing in it.

On Thursday, Josh was arrested by U.S. Marshals and booked into the Washington County, Arkansas, Detention Center. He was placed on a federal hold with no bond, but his charges were not revealed until Friday’s court hearing.

Josh’s mugshot from Thursday’s arrest…

If Josh is found guilty of the charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison, and fines up to $250,000 on each count.

As “19 Kids & Counting” fans know, Josh has a history of sex abuse and sexual misconduct. As a teen, he confessed to molesting four of his sisters and another young girl. That scandal was exposed in 2015 and led to TLC cancelling “19 Kids and Counting.” That same year, it was discovered that Josh had been unfaithful to his wife Anna and had been seeking out an affair on the website Ashley Madison. He was later shipped to a rehab center.

On Thursday— after news of Josh’s arrest broke— Jill Duggar Dillard gave a statement to Entertainment Tonight. (Jill revealed years ago that she was one of the sibling Josh molested.) 

“We just learned this information,” Jill— who is somewhat estranged from the Duggars— told ET. “It is very sad.” 

The Ashley will continue to post live updates as the come in. Stay tuned…

UPDATE 1: According to a press release just released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas, Josh allegedly downloaded the child sex abuse material in May 2019. He is being held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center; however, he can request to be released at his upcoming hearing on May 5.

He has a trial set for July 6, with the pre-trial proceedings to begin on July 1. 

Josh’s case is being prosecuted by Project Safe Childhood, a initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sex exploitation and abuse in the United States. Josh’s case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Fayetteville, and the Northwest Arkansas Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

UPDATE 2: Justin GelfandTravis W. Story and Greg Payne— the three attorneys making up Josh’s legal team told TMZ in a statement that they plan to fight the charges hard.

“Josh Duggar has been charged in a two-count indictment,” they told the site. “He has pled not guilty to both charges and we intend to defend this case aggressively and thoroughly.

“In this country, no one can stop prosecutors from charging a crime. But when you’re accused, you can fight back in the courtroom—and that is exactly what Josh intends to do.”

UPDATE 3: Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, as well as Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo, have released statements regarding Josh’s arrest and charges. Click here to read what they said.

UPDATE 4: According to The Sun, the judge stated that Josh is not allowed to be exposed to minors, should he be released on bail in May. This apparently means that he will not be allowed around his own six children.

86 Comments

  1. Anna was raised very protected. No books, no TV, no computer, no school. Everything she knows her environment has taught her. I think until her marriage, Anna didn’t even know that porn, let alone child pornography, existed. I already find it difficult to visualize what child pornography is, my mind doesn’t go that far. Anna cannot do this at all. It’s too far beyond her imagination.
    I think her sex life with Josh was awful. But she has no knowledge and no comparison. When no one tells you what is normal and you do not have the opportunity to gain general knowledge, you cannot understand this either.
    Be understanding of Anna. It’s not her fault.


    1. I agree. She is utterly and completely brainwashed and indoctrinated to believe that she should pray, forgive, and stay with her husband NO MATTER WHAT. She is totally trapped and no one in that cult is going to help her. I would be surprised if she divorces him over this, even if he goes to jail(as he definitely should). The people of this ‘church’ should hang their heads in shame for what they have done to generations of young people – particularly women – whilst holding themselves up as virtuous examples to the rest of us.


    2. I understand exactly what u are saying. The girl knows nothing except what Josh has taught her. Her family is just as bad. Maybe her brother will stand up for her again. I feel bad for Anna also


  2. So was the investigation before or after Anna and the kids plus him moved to that warehouse on the parents property?

    Was he moved closer to home to keep him close after the raid?


  3. Ugghhh….I really don’t know if Anna would even ask her kids if they have been touched by dad. My stomach is turning just writing this. Anna is young and has the ability to salvage her own life and more importantly her kids. Sadly I can see her gluing that smile to her face as she visits Josh in prison for the next 20 years.


  4. I do t understand why he wasn’t arrested and charged regarding the abuse to his sisters? Even if they were encouraged not to, by their family/church/cult, surely that’s irrelevant when it’s child abuse?


    1. Past the statue by time it was public knowledge… back when it happened it was prob a combination of thinking boys/kids will be boys and good ol boy thinkin of its a one off thing & let parents decide appropriate punishment (I’m sure it was small town, all very hushhush)


    2. If your child is a victim of sexual abuse, you can make a report about it but still decline prosecution. You would be shocked at the number of people who choose to go this route. People may choose not to prosecute because they don’t want their child (the victim) to have to testify in court about what’s been done to them. A lot of times if the perpetrator is a juvenile (especially a relative), the victim’s parents feel they would be “ruining the offender’s life” by having them arrested. They don’t want their child (the victim) to be blamed by other relatives for making cousin Johnny have to be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. Or, as in this case, they don’t want to upend their whole family by having their son arrested for molesting their daughter(s). The Duggars did everything wrong in the aftermath of the original crimes coming to light, however, not having Josh arrested was something a lot of parents in their shoes opt to do. (Though most parents choose actual counseling and treatment, not just praying away the trauma to your daughters and the perversions of your son 🙄.)

      The stigma attached to being a victim of a sex crime is very real, and it becomes especially complicated when there are kids and/or family members involved. People make the report to get referrals for help for both the offender and the victim, and to get restrictions in place through child welfare services so that the offender can’t be left alone with other kids. If the offender is a juvenile, usually these agencies will mandate counseling and follow up with parents for a certain period of time. If the parents don’t abide by the restrictions, then they could face having their children removed from their custody, but that’s it. There’s never actually a criminal case that goes to court.


    3. The investigation against Josh was probably part of a much larger investigation into who was supplying Duggar and other users.


      1. Yeah I doubt the family clued her in on their expectation he was going to be arrested seeing how they aren’t getting along right now.


    1. What exactly is she supposed to say? Anything will be snatched up by social media as well as the mainstream media. This is a tragedy for Jill. I’m sure she loves her family. Who knows? She could be subpoenaed to testify at a trial. I have empathy for her. This whole genre of reality television needs to be done


  5. Should have been arrested 10 years ago but better late than never. Slowly cut off his dick and then put a bullet in his head. Pedophiles cannot be rehabilitated. Why should we pay to house and feed him?


  6. Im appalled by all of the people saying Anna is a victim too and she truly believes what her faith teaches about standing by your husband and praying. That’s a crap excuse. Is it okay for a cult leader to molest their members children if they truly believe in what they are doing? Is it okay for someone to kill in the name of religion? No. Faith is 100% a choice. Her faith is her choice and by making the choice to stand by that she failed to protect her children from a known pedophile. Yes it is ingrained in her faith and she believes it’s right to stand by him which trust me I sympathize with but that does not make her any less guilty of endangering those children.


    1. Jim Bob and Michelle are who I blame the most. They swept everything under the rug for YEARS and put all their kids and grandkids at risk.

      I grew up in the same quiverfull fundie movement as them, so I can absolutely understand Anna’s line of thinking. She probably thought that since he want to “rehab” that he was ok. Once you’ve gotten whatever treatment the church seems acceptable, there’s not a lot of follow up or accountability. If he was doing all this mess with secret computers or phones, I’m not sure how she could’ve known when she only knows blind faith.

      This isn’t the first time he’s been a piece of shit and past behavior strongly suggests future issues. I can only hope that he gets the max sentence and that someone steps in on behalf of his kids and makes sure they’re ok because clearly that family isn’t capable of doing that.


  7. One vote for chop his cock off!

    I wonder if he was molested himself, since he was already committing sexual offenses as a teenager. Regardless, he needs to be locked up for life which won’t happen. That’s why I’d rather see a more permanent solution.


    1. That was my first thought as well.

      Who knows kind of lifeatyle Jim Bob and Michelle really lived before the TV cameras.


  8. Remember when his sisters said he was just too curious about girls when he molested them? If his family had taken it seriously, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. They also apparently knew this arrest was coming for a while and did nothing?? HOW?

    This just pisses me off so much. I was molested by my sister from age 4-12 and my parents did NOTHING and still don’t believe it happened. FAMILY MOLESTATION HAPPENS AND NEEDS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOUR CHURCH SAYS.

    Honestly I feel bad for Anna and the kids. She’s so brainwashed and now she has to explain this to them. Those kids aren’t safe and she doesn’t understand.


    1. Im so sorry for that. I was molested by my brother at 6, on more than one occasion. I told my mom and she didn’t do anything. Nothing. I brought it up out of anger 5-6 yrs ago and she told me I was lying. Then doubled down and said “well, are you gonna hold him to that forever?” “That’s why God doesn’t bless you, because you don’t know how to forgive!” Mind you, my uncle who died recently molested multiple family members, and my mom is mad that the victims are talking, now that he’s gone. Family can be just as sick and disgusting as ppl out in the street. Even worse.


  9. What a piece of shit. Seriously.

    I work for an internet service provider and we often get notices that child porn0graphy has been tracked to an IP address receiving our service. There are a lot of watchdog groups internationally (oddly, a lot of the notices we receive come from groups based in Canada, even though we are an US-based company) who alert both us and law enforcement of suspected child porn0graphers. It is absolutely disgusting that anyone would sexualize a child and get aroused by children.

    From what I understand, law enforcement is constantly actively trying to catch the producers of the child p0rnography. Viewers are charged to try to give LEO’s a way to find and shut down the producers. It’s not uncommon for it to take months or years to charge a viewer, as the producers are really the target. Not saying that those who view are collateral damage—they are beyond vile, but they are of lesser importance to law enforcement.

    I hope and pray that Josh hasn’t been molesting his children (although it’s probably happened) or producing his own content. Also I hope this is the last straw for Anna. She has a duty to protect her children and needs to keep them away from their piece of shit father. I really do think she’s a victim of Josh as well so I hope she has the strength and support to leave his ass in the dust.

    What a piece of shit.


    1. I love that there are groups out there searching for these POS. Thank you for that perspective!

      This guy has repeatedly proven that he is a threat to society, always has been and always will be. If only one of the “bad apples” had been responsible for HIS arrest.


  10. For everyone trashing Anna, just keep in mind that someone that deep in their particular religion truly believes that God wants her to stand by her man, the ‘head’ of the family, no matter what. I know it sounds wild to most of us, but these things are ingrained in them from the time they are babies. Hard. And everyone they are surrounded with believes the same, and reinforces it. They are literally taught that if the husband beats them, they need to pray and think about what they did wrong to make him have to do that, and try to be a better wife. That’s just one example. She is surely terrified of going to hell and being shunned by everyone she knows & loves if she left her husband.

    It’s also no small feat to leave that family when you are a mom of about-to-be 7 children with zero skills & education. His family has the money to support her and her kids. Her family does not.

    And yes it’s extremely upsetting that she let her kids around him. I get that. But these people truly believe that prayer can fix and change people. And they deeply believe the answer to any big problem is to pray and listen to the male leaders of your family and church. I’m sure he told her he was healed from all the praying and that it was all in the past.

    She’s also very naive & unworldly, so even though she knew he had looked at adult porn and knows he cheated, she probably never imagined he would do anything to their kids. And yes he molested his sisters when they were young, but we know that was brushed over as “he was a young teenager just discovering sexual feelings and didn’t understand the gravity of it”. Remember, even the parents downplayed it because the sisters were asleep in some of the cases and therefore “didn’t know” that he touched them. Even her own parents and family encouraged her to marry Josh AFTER they all were told about the molestation of the girls.

    Anna has been put through hell. And she is expected to smile sweetly and put on a happy facade, all the while being the perfect wife and mother. Yes it sucks that she didn’t leave him, and I agree that her children will grow up to read all of this online, and she shouldn’t have continued to have more kids with him, and all of that. But just try to understand that these people do not think the same way most of us do. There is extreme pressure on Anna to never even dream of divorce, and I know she feels like she’s doing what “God would want her to”.


    1. Shea, agree with you 100%, thank you for putting it so succinctly. Anna is in a terrible spot in so many different ways. The family needs to move Anna and her children AWAY from Josh, permanently, and Jim Boob needs to support them. Josh can never be trusted, ever again. Hope he gets prison time.


  11. Y’all stop saying you hope he didn’t molest his own kids. He did. There is a zero percent chance he hasn’t assaulted his own children and his siblings’ children. You know it, I know it, the Duggars know it.


    1. I think the majority of us know that he has in fact molested his children. But, everyone is hoping that it didn’t happen for the sake of those children. Can you imagine the psychological damage this has done to them? Not only were they molested by their father but, their mother was complicit in the behavior as were the rest of the Duggar’s. My mind says that he has molested his children and probably others but my heart wishes it weren’t true for the sake of all of the children.


  12. The smile in his mug shot makes me even more pissed off. He knows he did it & he doesn’t feel any guilt about it

    His poor children. I hope they aren’t victims.


  13. That sly smirk he has in his mugshot says it all! He is a repeat offender pedophile who has never been held accountable for his actions! He has molested 5 that we know of, 2 of which was his own sisters. His dumbass parents sent him to a work camp with a friend as “punishment”. They all should be ashamed of themselves! What he received and downloaded depicted children 12 and under. All of his kids are 11 and younger, I really hope for their sake that they weren’t molested but, I wouldn’t put it past him! His wife knowingly stayed with a child molester and despite red flags smacking her in the face chose not only to stay with him but to have her many kids around him. If he has molested his own children, she needs to be charged for child neglect. I truly hope he does not get out on bail. Whether the judge says he needs to stay away from his kids or not means diddly squat. She is stupid enough to allow it anyway.


  14. I hope all the children he has had access to receive forensic interviews to determine if he has more victims. What a disgusting human, he should rot in hell


  15. I’m so surprised the family all knew it was coming yesterday. Why would the Feds alert the person? Obviously he didn’t run or hide or off himself, but I would think most people in that situation would. Seems weird that they give them a heads up.


    1. Did the family say they knew it was coming? Usually the Feds dont give a heads up before they arrest people so they don’t flee. I remember the college admission cheater parents were all surprised by a knock on their door or a swat team kicking in their doors.


  16. Oh, I hoped it was fraud. His poor little kids. I pray he didn’t harm them. I pray that this gives Anna the guts to walk the hell out. And kick Jim Boob and Michelle in the face on her way out!! They. Knew. They knew, and they didn’t protect their daughters OR their grandbabies. Mothers who don’t protect their children have a special place in hell. Satan is coming for YOU, Michelle Duggar! Anna better get right with God, fast.

    TLC, CANCEL THEM ALL!!!


  17. I feel ill. This is so sick. After coercing their daughters to say publicly say they forgive him, there’s nothing they can say now. I hope he never sees the light of day.


  18. He touched his sisters and now has been looking at kiddie porn. His daughters (maybe even his sons) are not safe.


    1. He’s a pedo! He probably molested his daughters and probably attempted to molested his nieces and other church people. I guarantee they find out Jim bob and co. Are all pedos.


  19. I feel sick to my stomach. I was hoping it was fraud or tax evasion or something like that. To kniw he is watching and therefore enforcing child abuse is just sickening.That man belongs behind bars for the rest of his miserable life!


  20. Strange how the “nobody better see the shape of our daughters’ bodies underneath their long skirts unless it’s their brother wanting an abusive fiddle in which case that is not a crime” mentality came back to bite them in the ass. Honestly, brushing your own girls getting abused under the carpet and the damage that did to them, and then knowing your grandchildren live with a man who abused your daughters…. I can’t even with that sort of “parenting”.
    Here’s hoping that the conjugal visits won’t be used to create a potential blessing victim #8, but given the twisted announcement if another baby girl days before the CP arrest they knew was coming, can’t put anything past them.


  21. I have always felt very sorry for Anna. In my opinion, she is in an abusive relationship and feels she has no way out. HOWEVER I will lose all sympathy for her if she does not do everything in her power to keep her kids safe. Those poor children. My only hope is that he has never touched them.


    1. I don’t feel sorry for her. She knew Josh sexually abused his sisters prior to their marriage and stayed with him after the other misconduct with Ashley Madison. Her brother offered to help her. Only people I feel sorry for are the kids and hips victims


      1. In my opinion Annas abuse began before she even met Josh. However she needs to get them kids out of there. Shame on her if she doesnt. Im sure with this being made public she could receive a lot of help to get out.


  22. Is anyone surprised? Dude is a documented pervert who molested his sisters when they were young, and that entire family just let him get away with it. Then he went and got caught on Ashley Madison while his wife was pregnant, but she thought it was a good idea to make MORE babies with him. This is why you can’t let pedophiles get away with molesting children, they NEVER stop, it only gets worse. He should have been locked up YEARS ago.


    1. Their show needs to be cancelled. Should never have renamed it and tried to pass it off as something else when it ended up focusing on those same enabling idiot parents anyway. If Anna has any common sense (which is questionable at best) she would take her kids to a doctor or a therapist asap and see if anything has been done to them. Most likely her brainwashed self has been “trained” since she was little to stay and put up with a man’s sh*t no matter what and she will stay with him now too. Hope she is prepared to get a job because I doubt Josh is employable anymore after this.


  23. He needs to rot in jail and his poor children need to be taken away. Clearly their mother isn’t capable of protecting them if she stayed married to a child m0lester. I’m disgusted by the whole family. He can’t be let out, he has access to dozens of children and I’m not so sure their parents will protect them


  24. Also how effed does Anna have to be to have a carefully curated pregnancy announcement/gender reveal when she knew her husband’s child porn charges were imminent


    1. Did they know charges were imminent? I feel like the Feds dont tell people before they arrest them so no one tries to flee. The college scandal parents were all caught off guard when it happened. I know his dealership was raided like a year and a half ago but maybe they thought they were in the clear since nothing came out of it right away. Or Josh never told her what they were investigating him for and she had no clue. Either way, he’s f***ed. And I’m glad.


  25. What an absolute waste of a human. I’m wondering how the Duggars will react to this. They’ve refused to say anything negative about Josh from the beginning, but if they don’t condemn this, I can’t see TLC keeping the show on. Jim Bob will have to decide between the only two things he cares about: money and his male children


  26. Since Anna, and obviously, other Duggars knew of his impending arrest, and still stood by him, they’re all disgusting. Anna has likely known about this for years. She’s fucking insane and clearly not putting the safety of her kids above keeping her demented diddling Duggar husband safe.

    Those kids need to be removed from their home and not go to any other Duggar residence.


    1. I hope CPS gets involved now. Hopefully they take the kids and privately speak with them. I would think at this point she may potentially lose her kids if she stays with him.


  27. We all knew it was going to be something like this, but I still didn’t want it to be something like this. I don’t understand what makes a person…like that. This is just fucked and evil.


  28. He’s horrible. He’s been caught and exposed already. He seems to think he’s untouchable. I really hope they send him to prison.


  29. Sick. Disgusting. Vile. Jim Bob and Michelle should be put in jail for not getting him help as a teenager and for doing nothing to help the sisters that were molested. What the hell is Anna’s problem that she continues to procreate with this mess. And somehow Jill is the black sheep of the family? This whole family is a disgrace.


  30. If he thought the ALERT Academy was tough….Wait til he gets a peek at the shower in prison!

    I feel very bad for his sisters, whose names will once again be brought up again with a past they don’t want to relive.

    I hope that this time, a REAL investigation is THOROUGH, especially when it comes to his children, and any children that have ever had to look at his ugly stupid lying face.

    Also, am I out of line to say that the creepy vibes we have all felt from Jim Boob just might warrant some investigating also? That guy has known when every kid in that family has farted, so dont tell me he didnt know that Josh was looking at CHILD PORN at the car dealership.
    Im glad that this time, its Homeland Security, and not the keystone cops of small town Arkansas.


    1. For what it’s worth, I work closely with a few of the city cops who arrested him. Multiple are my bosses at their second job (I don’t want to reveal mine or someone else’s info, so just go with that description. Nothing illegal, just personal). And they would be perfectly happy and fine to watch this POS die. Arkansas and Midwest can be and seem very backwards at times, but crimes against children are frowned upon here too. I’ll actually talk to the one I’m close to but I know he can’t and won’t give me specifics. They’ll help as much as they can in their own capacity to make the charges stick.


  31. It’s almost like growing up in a dangerous religious cult can fuck you up. Not blaming it entirely on that, but it certainly didn’t help.


    1. May 2019?!?! Two years ago?! Why has he done since then? How many children have been put in danger because this wasn’t acted on when they found the evidence? Wtf?!


      1. I pray not his own daughters but with his history it’s foolish to not think about it being a strong possibility.


      2. Honestly it takes a while to get all the information gathered if he deleted any of it, it has to be recovered and that is a tedious process. I know someone who is going thru something like this but its a minor who sent pictures and might be charged with distribution of child pornogrophy, their device was sent to the BCI and they said it could take 6 months a year or longer because of all the other cases and also having to attempt to recover anything deleted.


  32. I think he’s beyond help at this point and its really high time for jail.

    Stop letting these ped0s get away with this stuff!!

    I feel terrible for the victims and my prayers go out to them.


    1. They raided his business in late 2019 or early 2020. No one ever came out and said why and I forgot about it. They were probably gathering evidence at that point. I dont think the feds arrest people until they have an airtight case so it may have taken awhile to get it all together. Not sure if grand jury’s are involved in federal cases but if so they might have had to wait until they could get an indictment. There is probably more people involved too.

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