Duggar Family Is Headed Back to Court in Wake of Josh Duggar's Conviction

By Stephen Andrew

In the wake of Josh Duggar's recent child pornography conviction, some members of the Duggar family are headed back to court. The Sun reports that sisters Jill Dillard, Jessa Seewald, Jinger Vuolo and Joy Forsyth have a new hearing date for their privacy lawsuit against their hometown of Springdale, Arkansas, as well as a number of police department employees and some other individuals. The Duggars will now go before a judge on April 18, 2022. A backup date was also set: June 20, 2022.

According to The Ashley, the sisters are suing "for claims made under Arkansas law for outrage, invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion and invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts." Among the defendants in the case are former Springdale Police Chief Kathy O'Kelley, Springdale City Attorney Ernest Cate, and former Springdale Chief of Police Rick Hoyt. There are also other unnamed defendants, as well as the City of Springdale and Washington County. The Ashley reports that there had been other defendants initially, but some have been dismissed in the years since the women first filed the lawsuit.

The news of the new court date comes after Josh Duggar was tried and convicted on child pornography charges. On Dec. 9, Duggar's trial ended with the jury delivering their decision to the court. The 33-year-old was found guilty of two charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. Duggar's sentencing will come at a later date, but the father of seven faces up to 20 years behind bars, as well as $250,000 in fines for each count he was convicted on. This means that he could potentially be looking at 40 years in prison and fines of $500,000. 

Duggar was taken into custody by sheriffs in Arkansas on April 28, with no word on the cause of the arrest at the time. The following day he was transferred to the custody of U.S. Marshals and formally charged with possession of child pornography. Duggar pleaded "not guilty" to the charges and remained in custody until a bond hearing.

Duggar was eventually released on bond and had reportedly been staying with a family friend. He was prohibited from having contact with minors. He was reportedly allowed "unlimited contact" with his kids, however, his wife — who gave birth to the couple's seventh child in October — was required to be present for the visits.

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