Anna Duggar Breaks Silence With Shock Defense of Husband Josh in Child Pornography Trial
For the first time since husband Josh Duggar was convicted on child pornography charges, Anna Duggar is speaking out and defending him. In December, Josh Duggar was convicted on one count of receiving child pornography, as well as one count of possessing child pornography. Anna, who appeared with Josh on the hit TLC series 19 Kids and Counting, shared an Instagram post on Thursday, Feb. 3 in a statement of support for her husband. "There is more to the story," she wrote, along with instructions for her followers to "see link in bio."
The link revealed Josh's motion for acquittal or a new trial. In the court documents obtained by In Touch, Josh's attorneys argued that the prosecution failed to present evidence that he "knew that the visual depictions were of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct." The prosecution claimed during the trial that Josh's work computer showed minors under the age of 12.
Though this is Anna's first time speaking on any level since the conviction, her support of Josh has been clear. She attended the trial alongside her husband. Several members of Josh's family, however, have shared different sentiments and spoken out against him. As a result, Anna did not attend Josh's family's annual Christmas celebration. He faces upwards of 40 years behind bars.
The motion reads: "The evidence elicited at trial does not support a conviction on either count — even in the light most favorable to the Government. Specifically, even accepting arguendo and only for purposes of this motion the allegation that Duggar received and possessed visual depictions of child pornography, the Government failed to adduce any evidence that Duggar 'knew that the visual depictions were of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct' — a necessary element for conviction of each count."
Josh's lawyers are also alleging there is no evidence that Josh actually viewed the images in question. "Indeed, the evidence at trial established that certain files allegedly found on the HP desktop computer were never viewed by any user of the computer and that all the files at issue had been deleted shortly after being downloaded," the motion continued.