Josh Duggar charged with receiving/possessing child pornography
Josh Duggar, best known for his starring role on TLC’s reality series 19 Kids And Counting, has now been charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. Arrested yesterday by U.S. Homeland Security, Duggar appeared in court on Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to the two charges against him.
Duggar starred on all five seasons of the reality series, which began life as 17 Kids And Counting in 2008. The series was canceled in 2015, after allegations surfaced that, as a teenager, Duggar had sexually abused at least five underage women, including some of his younger sisters. (In that case, the charges against him were never fully investigated by law enforcement, because the statute of limitations had expired by the time the allegations came to light.)
If convicted, Duggar faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each of the two counts. Per People, his attorneys released the following statement earlier today:
Josh Duggar has been charged in a two-count indictment. 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.
Duggar is currently awaiting a bond hearing, while being held in an Arkansas jail. If released on bail, he will be required to live “in a residence where there’s no minor in the home.”