The headlines from Josh Duggar’s criminal trial were agonizing. I couldn’t stomach reading most of the coverage, but I know many in the Duggar family testified (update: okay, no one testified at trial), and I know that the prosecution was allowed to enter evidence and testimony of Josh’s prior acts of molestation on his sisters and a neighbor’s child. In this trial, Josh was facing charges of receiving (downloading) and possessing child pornography. The jury came back pretty quickly: Josh Duggar was found guilty on two counts.
Former reality TV star Josh Duggar was immediately taken into custody Thursday after a federal jury convicted him of downloading and possessing child pornography.
The jury in Fayetteville, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock, found the 33-year-old Duggar guilty on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each count when he’s sentenced.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks said sentencing will happen in about four months, Fayetteville TV station KNWA reported.
Duggar and his large Arkansas family starred on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” until the network canceled the show in 2015 following revelations that he had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter. Authorities began investigating the abuse in 2006 after receiving a tip from a family friend but concluded that the statute of limitations on any possible charges had expired.
Duggar’s parents said he had confessed to the fondling and apologized. At the time, Duggar apologized publicly for unspecified behavior and resigned as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group. Duggar later apologized for a pornography addiction and for cheating on his wife, calling himself “the biggest hypocrite ever.”
The judge in the child porn case ruled that jurors could hear testimony about how in 2003, Duggar admitted to molesting four girls. A family friend testified that Duggar told her about the abuse.
Federal authorities said they began investigating after a Little Rock police detective found child porn files were being shared by a computer traced to Duggar. A federal agent testified in May that images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were downloaded in 2019 onto a computer at a car dealership Duggar owned. Duggar’s attorney argued that someone else downloaded or uploaded the images onto Duggar’s computer. But the jury wasn’t swayed.
I feel such relief that Josh Duggar was convicted and that he’ll have to serve real time. I hoped that there would be a shot at fifty, sixty years in prison, especially considering that federal authorities didn’t charge him for many of the “hundreds” of child abuse photos they found on his computer. Is there a possibility of Duggar being charged with additional crimes at a later date, I wonder? While I thought the prosecution’s case was bulletproof, I also believed that conviction was far from a sure thing. He’s a white guy with a powerful and well-connected family, and his trial was in Arkansas. The fact that he was convicted should tell you a lot about how depraved he is: even his Arkansas peeps couldn’t let him get away with it.
Josh’s wife Anna had attended the trial and she was there for the guilty verdict. Onlookers describe her reaction as “stoic.” She just gave birth to their seventh child on November 16th. Jim Bob Duggar was in the courtroom too and he apparently “comforted” Anna.
Josh Duggar breaks down in tears and mouths 'I love you' to wife Anna after being found GUILTY https://t.co/P60MAQjlGo pic.twitter.com/a7MAtkU6bw
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) December 9, 2021
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.
Anna Duggar gave birth on October 23. Adding to the topic, the worst part of it all is the way Jim Bob acted when he was forced to testify as a witness. He didn’t think of his daughters and acted as he couldn’t recall any of the details. He decided that their forgiveness somehow erased those horrible events. Even the judge had to put him in his place.
Jim Bob Duggar is a piece of trash. I hope this family fades away from the media now. The constant people articles about their courtship, and countless children is ridiculous. They preach family values but when it comes to protecting their family its a different story. He doesn’t remember the details of his son confessing to sexually abusing his own young daughters. I think we can all agree that you would certainly remember the details. I’ve read about it and the details are hard to forget. These poor girls. True justice would be jim bob in jail and every other religious nut who let this happen.
There was a special report made by Megyn Kelly where they talked about it and countless articles, so to his dismay their recounts of what happened have been immortalized. He just tries to see what he can get away with every single time.
I’m sure Jim Bob thought his doughy son had a promising future in the Arkansas GOP. Josh was photographed with lots of politicians.
He’s worse than trash, he’s evil. That family is a cult of abuse in my opinion. Religion is once again being used to keep women in a powerless position, and we have a Supreme Court and countless politicians happy to set us back even further. Adding to the sickness is how they get the women in the family to fervently support the abuse, including of their own children. Jim Bob’s wife is a monster for not protecting those kids.
Isn’t Jim Bob running for the Senate?
it’s because, in his mind, the girls were at fault for tempting their poor brother.
this is man who didn’t want the younger daughters (toddlers, even!) wearing tights because it would tempt the poor fragile men into having wicked thoughts. LITTLE GIRLS IN TIGHTS. what kind of sicko even thinks like that? IMO, one who has the same “wicked” thoughts. he’s gross.
Part of me hopes they don’t fade away from media. I think this is the tip of the sh*t iceberg. This came about partly because there was more focus on the family instead of them being able to just exist in their own community.
@whatwhat is that why they always wear pants under skirts? No wonder their son turned out so warped. For people who want to be pure or whatever they sure do focus on sex alot.
You know one thing that outrages me about the coverage is the use of the term “child porn”. This is not porn (aka consenting sex performance for money). This is Sexual Abuse and Torture of toddlers, children and minors. I hate how our society always blankets things.
Was Anna one of his victims he later converted into his wife to keep her quiet, submissive, and validate his criminal perversions? I read that yesterday and don’t know if it’s true.
I dont think so. One of the family friends who testified that he confessed to them, their daughter was in a courtship with josh and they put an end to it i think. Im sure Anna is a victim of this really, indoctrinated from an early age. Hope someone can knock some sense into to get away from this and break the cycle.
Almost definitely not. There was a 5th unrelated victim but there is no suggestion it was Anna.
I was sick & furious when I saw that Jim Bob claimed he “couldn’t recall” what Josh told him he did to his sisters. Jim Bob also only admitted that Josh touched the breast area above the clothes of his sisters, when that is absolutely not the worst of it. I will not go into detail because I still feel terrible that the info got out in the way that it did because now everyone knows what happened to his sisters and they had no choice in everyone knowing. But I will say that the youngest was 5 and he was 15. That is not a curious boy whose hormones made him do it, like Jim Bob implied.
I assume Jim Bob blamed the girls and how they were acting or dressing. I’m assuming that everytime a man does wrong in their world, it’s a women’s fault somehow.
Wait, what? She just had another baby with him?
This story is awful, on so many levels.
Their religion which she grew up in was the man was the ruler of the roost. I hope she is able to break free from this religion and save her kids.
@Mcmmom:
#7 to be exact. While I hope she won’t have to go through this again, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s got #8 in the oven.
Not saying she DOES, just saying it wouldn’t surprise me
They practice a form of birth control right after birth where they don’t have sex for a certain number of days after the birth because I think it’s considered unclean so hopefully she isn’t pregnant again.
She is brainwashed to the max, she will never be able to think differently and break away. I’m sure she turned a blind eye and will continue to support him.
Supposedly she even said it was President Biden’s fault. 🤷
Not sure how true that is, but nothing surprises me about these people
Yeah, if you don’t leave when your partner does pedophile stuff MULTIPLE TIMES, what else could possibly convince you to get out? I have sympathy for Anna. She’s never been allowed to to do anything on her terms. But her choices hurt her kids even more than her, and she’s failing them by keeping them in this sick, abusive environment.
The details in this case were sickening. Very happy with the verdict.
Truly beyond sickening. The DOJ’s Forensic Tech guy testified that one of the videos downloaded on Duggar’s computer was among the absolutely most offensive things he had seen in his career.
Duggar can rot in h*ll.
Can you even imagine how bad the stuff he downloaded must have been for the people who hunt the Joshes of the world for a living to say it was the worst he ever saw? This smug sicko deserves to serve every day of those 20 years he may get.
Yes, everyone here do themselves a favour and don’t look more into this the porn he had……. it’s sickening. truly sickening. I really regret looking more into it…
Man, I hope those people have access to psych care because you can only imagine some of the shit they see on a regular basis. Human depravity is something else.
@JJ I agree. I did a little research and I wish I didn’t. It’s truly horrifying. The kind of things this POS was downloading and looking it, is straight up torture and sexual abuse of children. He deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life. Duggar showed who he was early on by molesting his own sisters, and basically nothing was done about it. Thank goodness justice was truly served here.
This man literally turns my stomach. He belongs in prison because he is a real danger to society.
Yesterday was a good day. r/DuggarSnark was on fire. This entire situation is heartbreaking. The Duggar parents let down every single child in their family. Josh-for ignoring his abusive behavior and refusing to get him help, The daughters for being victims but more than likely blamed. His wife, Anna has grown up in the cult, dirt poor, with terrible parents. Is it any wonder she is standing by her man? She doesn’t know any better.
DuggarSnark was the only way I could process what was happening. The humour, the compassion, the community really stepped up. I feel for those jurors who are going to have such awful images imprinted in their brains. I hope those who need it seek therapy.
Agreed. I grew up I guess you could say fundie-lite and I’m a lesbian so you can imagine what that was like. When I found DuggarSnark I feel like I found my people. From what I understand-in a federal case like this, anyone on the jury is offered therapy and paid for by the government. I sincerely hope they utilize that if they need it. Just the descriptions had me in tears.
Did the jury have to view what he had downloaded? That is frigging terrible. I dont know if I would ever sleep again. Just hearing the vague details about it is enough for nightmares. My heart goes out to anyone experiencing this type of horrible abuse.
@Bryn-I am not 100 percent sure but I believe they didn’t view actual videos but had to view still images of some of the videos and then some of the pictures he downloaded.
Fellow snarker here, that sub gave me life this last week, such an amazing community. FJD!
The jury only had to see small snippets of pictures or videos I believe, and the monitors were turned towards them so no one else in the courtroom could see.
Well, thank the Lord Daniel there are a lot of us snarkers on this site!
Praise B to Lord Daniel, let he watch over us and keep us safe. I feel like snarkers and CB line up well.
Hitting F5 on Duggarsnark was how I spent my week. I am so glad that Josh got what he deserved. Next, I want the Feds to rip through the Duggar empire’s books. There is no way they are clean with Jim Bob the grifter at the helm.
thank God he’s going to jail and will be kept away from his kids, since their mother won’t protect them from him. especially since he has a history of molesting family members already.
Very glad he’ll be in jail till his kids are all safely in adulthood. I hope they get free of the toxic Duggar culture and don’t let him near his eventual grandchildren.
Anna will take the kids to visit Josh in prison, you just watch. And Michelle and Jim Bob will infest the kids with their sick dogmas and call it religion. It’s all very predictable. Sadly.
I don’t know if there’s any truth in this, but one piece of analysis I read said that sites like the ones he’d been using require a person to upload content before they can download, so this writer was concerned that Josh may have been abusing his own children as well.
Anyone know if there’s any truth to that?
It’s all so horrible. FJD!!
I wouldn’t be surprised at all given his history with his own sisters. Apparently CPS can interview all the kids now so we’ll see.
Karma is coming for him, and I am just fine with that. I hope this is the end of anything Duggar.
20 Years and Counting, coming soon to TLC!
well done.
HA!
OMG as funny as that is..and it was very funny…you know Jim Bob would gladly sell that idea
Disgusting. He is someone who should be in prison for a long time.
I thought it was a maximum of 40 years, because there are two counts?
There are, you’re right!
Yes, it could be up to 40 years if the judge decides Josh should serve two 20 year sentences consecutively, rather than concurrently. I’ll just be happy if he’s in jail until baby Madyson (I can’t believe they named her that) is 18.
@Harmony
Omg Madyson…like Ashley Madison. I never made the connection before. How heinous
No, one of the counts is a lesser-included offense so he can only get a max of 20 years.
I think it depends on if the judge is allowed to decide to sentence him to serve concurrently or consecutively. One is both 20 years at the same, the other is one after the other
, 20+20=40. But I’m not in the legal field, so you can’t disbarr me if that’s wrong, lol.
You are incorrect, he is facing 20 years.
Thank god. This will hopefully protect his children and all his future victims from him.
Whatever the sentence is, some states have additional laws, not sure Arkansas does, that after the criminal sentence is served, a sex offender can be civilly committed as a sexually dangerous person. Once that happens, there’s a review every few years to determine whether the person is still dangerous; he could end up in prison for pretty much the rest of his life.
Does that apply here? Because I think this was a federal case IIRC
A state district attorney can still file a SDP case using the federal conviction. It would mean that once the federal sentence is served, he gets transferred to a state court.
It really struck me that the statement from his piece of s**t parents was…measured. No screaming about God and Justice and appeals. Even those idiots know the game is up. May they never know another day of peace; enablers of child sex abuse have a special place in hell.
The wife? I just don’t know. I’ve heard no evidence that she has any skills or…sense. Presumably she will now be reliant on this awful family and a single mother (she won’t divorce). Not much hope there, but better this than that monster having access to his or anyone else’s kids.
That’s another problem with these religious cults. Anna was raised in it as well, she didn’t have much of a chance. No proper education, raised to be a submissive housewife who pops out as many babies as possible. Its been nice to see some of them break away, Jill for instance. As much as I can’t stand her husband, they obviously have no time for josh/ the rest of the families bullshit. They’ve taken control of their lives and not having a hundred kids.
Same re: Jill.
Yeah back when the Ashley Madison thing came out I kept hoping his wife would break free and stay away from him and I’ll admit I judged her back then for going back to him… but I realize now just how crazy that religious sect is. If you grew up dirt poor, with no education, no sexual education (or words to even express sexual molestation really) taught that if I man desires you it’s your fault, taught that if your husband is cheating its your fault, if you’re a daughter you’re likely not to even get a birth certificate and taught you’re just the tool of men… I guess I get why she’s still with him. There’s just no other option for her. Especially, I would think, now that she’ll be extra reliant on the Duggar’s television money.
Anna is sitting on 1m followers, property was transferred into her name, she’s entitled to free preschool because Josh is in prison, there’s public assistance, she could have a book written with a ghost writer, she can do paid interviews. She’s way better than most dealing with this situation.
I hope this is the beginning of the end of the IBLP, disgusting cult that benefits men only, and like a lot of religions they hide behind Jesus and use it as an excuse to judge and Shame others, and to control women and use them for sex.
I feel so bad for the Duggar girls, their own father chose to lie under oath instead of protecting them, once again choosing his pedophile son over his innocent daughters.
Did you see Jill and Derick’s statement? It’s on their website. They said the trial felt like a funeral, that they went (although Jill couldn’t go until she knew she wasn’t testifying) to hear the truth because they’ve been fed lies. They don’t offer prayers to Josh but to Anne and their kids and the victims. Jill and Derick do not give a f*ck anymore. They also quoted some scripture talking about hypocrites. Jill is in actual therapy now and Derick seems to really love her and while I don’t really like them (their views are still problematic) any small step out of that family and cult is good by me.
Yes I did see that and it gave me chills! Good for them, even though I still don’t agree with some of their views I think Derick truly loves her and supports her like a partner should.
I’ve been following her for awhile and she posts some pretty badass things:)
I agree, while Derick Dillard has some really trash views on things, they are probably Anna and her children’s only hope for getting out and getting some help. Derick got a for real education (law school) and his wife Jill has openly talked about getting counseling and they’ve broken away from her family. They may seem super problematic in their views, but considering Jill was raised in an actual cult, they have made HUGE strides towards a more mentally healthy life for them and their children. I hope they reach out to Anna and their nieces and nephews and I hope she breaks away too.
Same…but remember, Jill was one of Josh’s victims and she was forced to forgive him and “absorb some of the blame”. And he didn’t just feel her up over her clothes. It was way worse…he sexually assaulted her. Jim Bob continues to punish her as well. He is a awful disgusting man.
I also think that now that she and Derick have broken away from that horrible family and are in actual therapy, their views seem to be slowly changing as they learn more about the real world. I could be wrong but he clearly loves her and is bitterly angry about what that family let happen to her. As he should be!
Jim Bob is running for some political office, I wonder if Josh’s thinks he will get some light sentence or eventually be pardoned because of his connections. That pic of him looks like he thinks he is untouchable and is still going to get away with it. I hope not and I hope his children get away from this despicable family but I doubt it.
Most of all, I truly hope and pray that Josh’s numerous victims find peace and healing.
Jill apparently is the one who reported the sexual abuse in the first place, and she’s been alienated from the family ever since. Apparently at a speech at her wedding Josh called her the “family tattletale.”
Why would you say “I know many in the Duggar family testified” when they didn’t? Only Jim Bob gave any testimony in this case. No other family members testified.
Yes Kay, and Jim Bob testified at an evidentiary hearing…ZERO Duggar family members testified at the actual trial.
A few members of the family were on the witness list, Jill and a brother I think, and could have been called to testify but they ended up not being called. A lot of the early reporting said that they would be testifying throughout the trial. But you don’t have to call every potential witness, and they weren’t called in the end.
And Jim Bob’s testimony was deemed not credible by the judge!
God, Jim Bob Duggar is the worst! Perhaps he abused JD and that’s why his stood by his side, made a deal for secrecy. Awful awful story, poor kids.
This is what I wonder. Abuse is so often passed down through families (behaviorally, not genetically). This whole thing is so very disturbing.
I’ve wondered this same thing, usually abuse like that is learned, so who abused Josh? What else is Jimbob hiding or lying about? I’m starting to think Michelle is a victim too.
Michelle is not a victim. She wasn’t raised in this cult and chose to join it with JB and raise their children in it.
That’s kind of what makes me think she might be a victim of JimBob. She was very different when they got married and didn’t even grow up religious if I remember correctly, even took birth control after they had Josh, which tells me she didn’t want a shit ton of kids, but she had a miscarriage and suddenly her thinking shifted, “God must’ve punished me for taking birth control”, and all hell broke loose in their beliefs.
JimBob just scares me, lying under oath to protect his pedophile son instead of his victim innocent daughters shocked me. It shouldn’t have but it did.
I believe Michelle was groomed by JB, but the nanosecond she chose Josh over the girls, the ceased being a victim.
None of the Duggars testified in the trial. Jim Bob testified in the preliminaries and was a disgrace, Constantly saying he didn’t remember (god, I felt so bad fo this daughters). One of the daughters and one of the sons were both o;the witness list, but neither was called In the end. Several members of the family did attend the trial.
I was so relieved over the verdict. My heart goes out to the Duggar girls who were once again reminded of how their parents failed them. The testimony from a former family friend was horrifying and sickening.
Case was solid against Josh Duggar. Child abuse, child pornography. No one & I mean, no one, not even juries in Arkansas, can stomach that.
I cheered when I saw the verdict. The lengths this criminal went to to continue his perversion and hide it was terrifying. The sad thing is, Anna only has seven kids and still probably wants more babies so having an imprisoned, convicted pedophile as a husband is ending that dream for her. Josh’s inability to give her more children will be the scriptural support she’ll use to dump him when she inevitably finds a new man that can give her more babies.
I wonder how that will play out. For the time being Anna needs the Duggars to support her so she has to stay married to Josh. Will she somehow meet someone who would take her and all those kids on? Wouldn’t she be branded as a shameless hussy if she dumped her poor 🤮 incarcerated husband? I guess we’ll see.
I don’t think she has any option for divorce. Only if Josh wants to give it to her. She’ll only divorce and move on if she actually is willing to break away from the cult. But until then, she’ll sit with them and support the awful Duggars.
Max of 40 years… 20 for each count.
It’s a max of 20, one count is a lesser included of the other.
Okay, but shouldn’t his time fit the crime??? I’m taking life in prison without the possibility of parole. I don’t think I’m being harsh. There is NO ROOM for a human like this in society. Maybe even the death penalty(if I’m being honest on how I really feel). He will never recover. He will always hurt children and seek out others hurting children so he can watch it on his phone or tv. This case makes me nauseous. Unforgivable in every lifetime.
I will be very interested to see the sentence. On the one hand, I think that anyone involved in the supply chain for CSAM – producers, distributors, consumers – should get the maximum sentence. On the other hand, I would think the number and quality of what he had may indicate a higher or lower sentence. It was “only” two counts, but the materials were “as bad as any [the expert] had ever seen.” Of course, I hope he gets the max, but I will be interested to see what, if anything, will be mitigating.
Welp.
Since he is now convicted of the crime, it will be interesting to see how long he stays alive waiting sentencing since he most likely won’t get out till then (not saying he will) if ever.
Prisoners have their own code of right and wrong and child molesters and paedophiles are at the top of their hit list. He will either get protection by being somebody’s b*tch or die or be put in isolation with the rest of the marked men.
My cousin is a retired prison guard and boy oh boy some of the stories…
Yes, indeed.
POS deserves it.
@HeyThere! I agree about the sentence fitting the crime, and sexual abuse of children/pedophiles and consumers of child pornography ARE at the top of that list. Hell, many psychologists argue that therapy cannot change them!! I loved the Judge that sentenced that POS former Doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually abused hundreds of athletes (most very young) over decades under the guise of “medical treatment”. That is the kind of treatment Duggar should get! The ultimate maximum. I think he is someone that will never change and should not be let out ever!!
I saw a TikTok last night that some authorities wanted to examine Josh and Anna’s children and also interview them to determine if any abuse happened and Anna refused. She was going to be allowed to be in the room with each child during the process and still refused. That is a red flag for me. Is she shielding the kids from all of this or is she trying to hide something?
Anna grew up and is still in a cult where the leader of the family is the husband. Now that her husband is going to prison, her new ‘headship’ is going to be her FIL. More than likely-Josh and her FIL told her to refuse to allow them to examine the children and she listened to them.
I don’t understand in a situation like this how they are given a choice?
This. I’ve been saying this from the get go. If he is a danger to children and can’t be around them, why was he allowed to be around his own when he has an admitted history of molesting family members? At what point do we take control from the parents?
Innocent until proven guilty gave them the right to refuse to cooperate. Now they can’t use that excuse to avoid having the children questioned. Before he admitted he molested girls but hadn’t been charged and convicted so there wasn’t anything CPS could do until he was convicted.
She doesn’t have that option now that he’s been convicted. I don’t understand how she could say no either, CPS should be able to investigate anyone at anytime, who knows if they’ve prepped the children to lie after all this time.
Could be a little of both. Her kids are going to find out eventually.
Children will be safe from him for 20 years. Research has shown he won’t stop, ever. No therapy works. No punishment works. Giving him absolutely no access to children is the only way to prevent more abuse. I’m thankful the justice system worked in this case.
castration works, chemical or physical.
I’m all for him getting neutered.
I’m all for neutering… his genitals AND his brain. And yes, I know what I’m saying. This POS deserves the death penalty, as does ANYONE that abuses a CHILD. Sorry, but I have NO sympathies or empathy for anyone who hurts a CHILD like this!
I agree, cut their genitals all the way off, I dgaf. Why waste money and resources in castrations pills, they have to come in frequently and be tested to make sure they take them properly. And maybe actually being afraid of punishment would stop these sickos from doing it in the first place. Cut their hands off, brand them with a giant P on their foreheads, just do something drastic if we know without a doubt they’re guilty! This continues to happen so frequently because people barely get a slap on the wrist half the time, if their victims even come forward at all. It’s sickening, and if it was mostly women who did this the punishment would be much more severe, but it’s men and we know how they get treated in this country.
SVU taught me castration doesn’t take away the desire. One doesn’t need use of their genitals to sexually abuse someone.
He will never stop unless he is locked up. He deserves 20 years and let prison justice do the rest.
I hope his fellow prisoners rid the world of this horror.
I have followed his trial obsessively. I cheered when the verdict came back! I think his sisters can find a way to heal. A family friend testified and I believe this is the first time his younger sister found out the extent of what Josh had done to her.
Let’s talk about how Jim Bob has publicly advocated for the death penalty for pedophiles. Put your money where your mouth is Jim Bob.
(I’m actually anti-death penalty…but oh Man I want someone to ask him about this)
@ cassandra, yes, let’s have Jim Bob put his words to use and start with his son. Pedophilia is an incurable disease and no amount of treatment will remove their desires for sexual acts against children. All pedophiles should be locked for life or castrated, which I stated earlier. No one is safe with these monsters free to roam and continue their violent crimes.
I read about a study done showing that castrated men becoming murderers. The outlet they had for their rage is no more, so they power-trip by killing instead. This article came out in the mid-80’s and was focused on a prison population in the Philippines.
I don’t know if I’d go that far. There are some pedophiles that recognize and don’t act on their urges. I’m all for imprisonment for offenders though.
This “family ” knows what they are. I believe they revel in what they have done to each other and any children who are unfortunate enough to get near them. He should be put away for life. Actually all of them. Talk about true evil.
You HAVE to know/wonder (at least!!!) how many more in this cult feel this way, view girls/women as their “temptresses” and thus are “responsible” for THEIR reprehensible urges/actions. I would bet it is FAR MORE than we even can imagine. It’s like a “license” for them to do whatever they want to the females under their “power”.
True, and it’s sad. So many people, “religious” and atheist alike, hold and preach different variations of that belief and allow it to control their treatment of girls and women. Their sick argument is that in order for people to not abuse children, and to recognize how wrong it is to do so, girls in particular must be covered from neck to knee (or whatever their arbitrary standard of modesty may be). Instead of facing reality by acknowledging the obvious and well-documented consequences of that argument being spread around, they’ll falsely accuse other people- everyone criticizing that toxic belief- of sexualizing kids. Much like those they enable, nothing is ever their fault, and nothing matters more than protecting their own liscence to victim-blame.
Noone is the Duggar family testified. Two siblings were on the witness list but didn’t end up testifying
I hope he is epsteined
Pedophiles are never treated well in jail. He’ll need to watch out when he drops the soap.
I don’t! I hope he has to spend every day of that 20-year sentence looking over his shoulder and miserable. He deserves it.
So JB has announced his candidacy for some public office. He should withdraw but he won’t.
If I were in the press pack there I would hound that man to his grave.
Good
I think they’re saving additional charges for when his lawyers appeal. Extra ammunition, if you will. I could be wrong, though
The Government can’t “add” new charges if he appeals. That’s not how any of this works. Not that I’d mind if extra charges were added, but the DOJ-USAO has all discretion in what they charge and how many counts, and while they can update/amend the Indictment (adding or removing counts) all the way until the trial starts (this is called a Superseding Indictment and in my 8 years of federal criminal litigation experience thsi usually comes down not too long before a set trial date, in order to weaken the Defense, they cannot do anything once the matter is under the jurisdiction of the appellate court.
So many sickening layers of awfulness with the history dating back almost 20 years. Had it not been for the former friend exposing this, Jim Bob would have worked to keep it a secret. The split computer system to hide the porn shows he knows it’s wrong.
His wife’s brother who is not a cult member offered her refuge away from him and a fresh start years ago, she refused and had more kids with him. The State Trooper Jim Bob engaged with gave Josh a stern talking to and was later convicted of separate child porn charges. TLC continued to profit with various recreations of the original show after the 1st exposure of the porn and abuse information.
No one acted on behalf of the victims.
It’s disturbing and shows there is more to this. I hope they keep investigating. Jim Bob is despicable as a father and human being. At some point you have to protect the kids. This wife will drag the kids to prison to see him and participate in conjugal visits if allowed. Maddening and perverse..
@Jrenne
“Authorities began investigating the abuse in 2006 after receiving a tip from a family friend but concluded that the statute of limitations on any possible charges had expired.”
I am not going to google this and all going off memory: the Oprah show got an email stating that Josh sexually molested his sisters and Oprah not only cancelled their planned appearance on her show, her team referred the email to law enforcement and that is how this became public.
I really think that it was Oprah’s standing on the world stage that made that first public complaint about him see the light of day.
I hope he gets a big taste of his own medicine and is relentlessly abused in prison.
When will enough finally be enough for TLC? This network has made an empire of exploiting vulnerable children and families for its dirty money. Anyone with half a brain cell doesn’t need a Ronan Farrow style expose on this network, but really?! What will it take for a reckoning to come for this network?
Oh, we definitely need an expose of TLC. Has anyone there suffered consequences for signing off on the Duggar freakshow yet?
good question. I stopped following People due to their constant overhyping of this despicable family. you could just tell something like this would eventually come out (and it’s icky enough in the part they say out loud).
I’m just glad he was found guilty and I hope he never sees the light of day as a free man.
It breaks my heart and sickens me to know that there is a vast group of people like this out there who abuse children. I just wish there was more that we as citizens can do to protect our children.
Good. Get that pervert away from his own children (and all children) for as long as possible. I hate that he has so many kids who now have to grow up with a Dad like that and a brainwashed mother.
Hopefully a long enough sentence for his wife to enter menopause (she just keeps birthing potential victims for him!) and his kids to move out. He’s a monster and threat to them.
GOOD I HOPE HE ROTS
I saw a little girl laughing with her puppy yesterday surrounded by a pile of leaves and burst into tears. The innocence was beautiful and heartbreaking all at once. I hope with my whole being this family and all of the victims find healing and peace.
I’ve avoided reading about this story because it just makes me sick and is just so upsetting to even contemplate. I’m glad he got a guilty verdict, his behavior has gone unchecked for far too long. It does seem like some of the Duggar family members are breaking away like Jill (who we know was one of the sisters directly targeted by Josh) and Jinger and I’m happy that some of them are waking up to the toxic lifestyle imposed on them by their parents.
I hope someday that Anna wakes up and leaves along with her children the Duggars far behind. The silver lining here is she will no longer have any children with him and they will be safe from their father. I can only hope she has a real come to Jesus moment, she’s got 7 kids to support.
You’re assuming though, that Anna is a good person.
But his lawyers are appealing, so there’s still a possibility he can get away with it all. It wouldn’t surprise me. Also, when Josh was molesting his sisters, the girls’ rooms were locked up, not Josh’s. So the girls were made prisoners in their own rooms and the male predator, their own brother, had free reign of the house. That little bitch should have been locked up and the sisters allowed to live in freedom. THEY were the victims. Some f-cked up religion.
A direct appeal is a right for every federal criminal case, but the circuits have a provision that if an appellate defender looks at hte case and does not find any grounds for appeal that they believe hold even a shred of merit, they can file a motion that tells the appellate court, hey, no issues, appeal withdrawn (with client understanding). There are mechanisms for an appellant to proceed pro se, but honestly the odds of success are sooooo low. CP cases, which I’ve defended many in the federal courts, tend to be really …. rock solid lol. I highly doubt he prevails on appeal. And even if he does, he will have been incarcerated for some time while the appeal works its way, as appellate stays of custody are very rarely granted. All that being said, a judge can still sentence him to probation. I’ve had clients charged with this crime (albeit not with his history of relevant conduct!) receive probation, either at plea (meaning with the agreement of the DOJ), or at sentencing following a trial (meaning it was the judge’s decision over the prosecution’s objection).
I would be surprised if they didn’t appeal. That’s a pretty standard move.
This person was a director at the far right Family Research Council and associated with many well-known conservative politicians who are still in office. These are the type of disgusting hypocrites that want to co-opt our laws and take away women’s reproductive rights. Not surprised they want to keep abortion illegal even in the case of rape and incest when disgusting people like Duggar are literally engaging in these acts. Go to jail, go directly to jail. Also, shame on the relatives in his life like his father and wife who enable and excused his criminal conduct which has damaged and scarred so many,including his own sisters. There were real children harmed and permanently damaged in those images he was viewing. Hope he rots.
I’m going to check out what Emily D. Baker has to say. She always breaks it down so the law is understandable for us non legal minions!
She doesn’t choose sides, she simply puts it out there.
(if you don’t know who she is, check her out on YouTube. She’s a former prosecutor for L.A. (I think) )
ETA:
Emily D Baker did an excellent job breaking it down. I encourage anyone to check it out.
*****BE WARNED***** there’s some seriously gross and disgusting stuff.
The thing that upset me the most was that a 3 month old infant was one of the victims in the pornography found on his computer!
I cannot imagine the judge going easy on him at sentencing.
I’m going to have to go read /r duggersnark
They sound like my people.
I was actually raised in the brethren church which is a lite version of quiverful.
Same exact doctrine. Bill gothard is the same dude for both.
I only found this out after I was reading a thing the dugger woman had posted on Facebook.
It was the creed women/wives are to follow.
And reading it I was wow that’s familiar, that sounds like the same thing shoved down my throat, like EXACTLY the same.
So I started looking into quiverful and Gothards name popped out at me.
I had been forced to go to a 2 week conference every year, from age 10-18, with my mom called Basic Youth Conflicts.
The dude running it and the speaker was bill gothard. The dude that was responsible for most of the church doctrine our church followed.
Imagine my surprise
Then I saw he was involved with Josh dugger and I was WAIT WHAT
This was when I started realizing the church I was brought up in was cult lite
And how I had been conditioned, brainwashed, indoctrinated.
And this wasn’t a small church, and there are a ton of churches in California with very similar beliefs and doctrine, I’ve been to quite a few over the years.
Basically the church and it’s tenants covers up a ton of abuse. Spousal abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, religious abuse, ect.
I have so many first hand stories about myself and things that happened to my friends I was witness to.
My best friend has 3 siblings, her mom married Steve when they were in grade school.
He is a horrible creature, sadistic. He physically, sexually , financially abused the kids and the mother. Severely.
When we were in highschool they (the kids) got brave enough and went to the head pastor and told him everything.
He had them all come in for a meeting.
Steve was an Elder/Deacon in the church.
I remember my friend being so happy and hopeful before the meeting.
The meeting where he told Steve he needed to control his family better and provide the kids with more discipline.
The duggers are highly triggering for me
Oh, kkat, this is so awful. I’m glad you were able to break away & I hope your friend & her sibs have been able to, as well.
Can’t wait for this creep to become someone’s bitch in the clinker. Pedophiles are the lowest form of life in prison.
Yes they are. Skinners (rapists) and pedos are scum even in prison populations. No doubt some strings will be pulled, or something, so he won’t get that hard time.
I can’t help but have sympathy for Anna, She been so brainwashed for so long, she never stood a chance. I hope one day she is able to deprogram herself, and get her children far away from that family.
That guy has definitely done stuff that hasn’t come to light yet, he is sick predator and is probably incapable of not sexually abusing girls. I hope he spends a lot of time in prison, because when he gets out, I’m willing to bet he picks up right where he left off, that dude is OFF.
Just heard Jana Duggar was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor and took a plea deal. This is so very sad.
Where did you read that?
I just googled it myself. Yep, it’s true.
Her hearing is scheduled for January. She was apparently cited in September but had it delayed until January because of the Josh trial.
From what I’ve read (from Cousin Amy) – Jana was babysitting some of her nieces & nephews, she fell asleep, and one got out of the house
I was pleased to read that he will be fined as well as serve time. I would hope those funds could go to organizations who help survivors heal and recover their lives. CP and exploitation is hidden in broad daylight. This person was caught, but so many others are not. Thanks for covering this. Shine a light on the darkness. <3
Jill apparently is the one who reported the sexual abuse in the first place, and she’s been alienated from the family ever since. Apparently at a speech at her wedding Josh called her the “family tattletale.”
Too bad we don’t have the death penalty for the crimes Josh committed, Also, Anna should have to do prison time for allowing Josh to access porn and to their own children. There is no cure or rehabilitation for either one of them. Josh, when he gets out, will certainly reoffend again and Anna will support him.