UPDATE: Although it was previously not known what charges Josh Duggar was being held on following his recent arrest, there has now been some clarification.
“According to court documents, Joshua James Duggar, 33, allegedly used the internet to download child sexual abuse material,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas said in a press release on Friday, April 30. “Duggar allegedly possessed this material, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019.”
The 33-year-old plead not guilty during his arraignment although his attorneys declined to have the judge read out the charges against him. U.S Chief Magistrate Judge Erin L. Wiedemann said if he is awarded bail, Josh will have to be “in a residence where there’s no minor in the home.”
When the judge asked, “Do you understand what you’ve been charged with?” Josh replied, “Yes, your honor.
He is still being held without bond but can request to be released during a hearing set for May 5. His trial is scheduled to begin July 6, with pretrial proceedings beginning five days earlier. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each count.
Original Story Below…
Former 19 Kids and Counting star Josh Duggar has been arrested and is being held in an Arkansas jail according to reports.
While online jail records do not indicate what charges he was arrested on, it was revealed he was arrested by Homeland Security.
Although details of the arrest aren’t clear, fans are well aware that this is not the first scandal Josh Duggar,33, has found himself embroiled in. Back in 2015 it was revealed that Josh was investigated as a teenager for inappropriately touching underage girls, two of which were revealed to be his sisters Jill and Jessa.
Shortly after it was revealed that Josh had an account on the website Ashley Madison, intended for cheating on your spouse. He was then sued by a woman who said he assaulted her during one of their encounters.
Josh admitted to cheating on his wife and issued an apology. “I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife. I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him,” the statement read.
In 2019 Josh was faced with a real estate lawsuit. Josh’s place of employment, an Arkansas car dealership, was also previously raided by Homeland Security as part of an “ongoing federal investigation” in November 2019 but it was not revealed whether he was the focus of the investigation.
His arrest comes only days after he and his wife Anna revealed they are currently expecting their seventh child, a baby girl.
(Washington County Arkansas Jail via AP)