Anna Duggar Soaks up Happiness at Friend's Vow Renewal Ahead of Husband Josh's Prison Sentencing
Former Counting On star Anna Duggar attended a friend's vow renewal ceremony in Arkansas earlier this weekend. Photos from the event showed her smiling, with no hint at the drama playing out in court with her husband, Josh Duggar. In December 2021, Josh was convicted on two federal charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. He is now awaiting his sentencing.
Anna, 33, was seen smiling in almost every photo her friend posted from the renewal ceremony. She wore a champagne-colored dress and was joined by other members of the Duggar family. Joy Forsyth, Abbie Duggar, and Michelle Duggar were all there, reports InTouch Weekly.
Anna, 33, did not post any photos on her own Instagram page. She still has not used the profile since Feb. 3, when she broke her public silence on her husband's child pornography case. "There is more to the story," she wrote and directed followers to a link to Josh's motion to acquit in her bio.
In the documents, his legal team claims the prosecution never presented proof that Josh "knew that the visual depictions were of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct." They also claimed prosecutors failed to prove Josh viewed the pornographic material found on his computer. "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 reads.
Josh, 34, was scheduled to be sentenced on April 5, but a judge granted his motion to delay. He remains in custody while waiting for the sentencing hearing, now scheduled for May 25.
U.S. Marshals arrested Josh in late April 2021. He pleaded not guilty and was convicted after a trial in December. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. Before the trial began, Anna welcomed her seventh child with Josh, a baby girl named Madyson Lily Duggar. They are also parents to Mackynzie, Michael, Marcus, Meredith, Mason, and Maryella.
The Duggar family starred in TLC's 19 Kids and Counting from 2008 until 2015, when the show was canceled after it was revealed that Josh molested five girls, including some of his sisters, in 2002 and 2003. TLC continued working with the Duggars, even ordering a follow-up series called Counting On. TLC finally canceled Counting On in June 2021, two months after Josh's child pornography arrest.