Josh Duggar Could Go Back to Trial for Child Pornography Case

Josh Duggar could potentially go back to court for his child pornography case if his lawyer’s recent motion isn’t granted. According to The Hill, the 19 Kids and Counting alum’s attorney argues in a new court motion to acquit Duggar on his charges of downloading and possessing child pornography, claiming that Duggar was unjustly denied from presenting a “necessary witness” during his original trial. 

The witness in question is a former employee at Duggar’s car dealership in Arkansas where the feds discovered a computer with multiple files of child pornography. According to Duggar’s attorney, the ex-employee is a registered sex offender and had “regularly used the desktop computer in the months and weeks leading up to May 2019.”

As written in the motion, the employee allegedly sent emails to prosecutors admitting that he’d worked at the dealership during the days in question (May 8-11), but he claims he doesn’t remember if he used Duggar’s computer. In another email sent after the trial started, the employee reportedly gave sensitive information to prosecutors including the social media passwords of several Duggar siblings. All of the correspondence between the two parties amounts to Josh’s being  “deprived of materially exculpatory evidence until the evening before the government rested its case.” 

If the judge refuses to acquit, Duggar’s attorneys are requesting a new trial for their client. In Duggar’s original trial, the jury heard testimony from a close family friend Bobbye Holt who told the courtroom about earlier instances of Duggar’s inappropriate touching. Holt described Duggar’s 2003 confession where he told her that he molested four underage girls when he was 12 years old. “[Josh] explained that Jane Doe four was sitting on his lap during Bible time and he touched her inappropriately,” Holt said. “He said it happened that day. On that date, he told us that he touched her vaginal area.”

After a seven-day trial, the jury delivered a guilty verdict on December 9. The sentencing hasn’t taken place yet, but the former reality TV star faces up to 20 years in federal prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each count.