Josh Duggar Faces Embarrassing Allegations Connected to His Child Pornography Charges

Former TLC star Josh Duggar allegedly used the same password to access child pornography images as he did for his family’s Instagram page, according to prosecutors. The allegations surfaced in newly unsealed court documents obtained by Radar Online. Prosecutors revealed the detail during Duggar’s bond hearing in May. Duggar was arrested on April 29 and faces federal charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.

Federal prosecutors sought to keep Duggar, 33, in prison during the bond hearing while awaiting trial. Investigators said they found the offensive images on Duggar’s work computer at his used car lot. He allegedly downloaded the material using a peer-to-peer program, which he used to allegedly hide his activity. “All of those things go to show what Mr. Duggar was doing and the links he was going to in order to conceal his activity,” the prosecutor said.

While Duggar took steps to hide his activity, he was not using a unique password. According to prosecutors, he used the same password to access the images as he did for bank accounts and his family’s Instagram account. “That was the password that Josh Duggar had been using for years, and it goes to show that he is the person” who used the secret program, the prosecutors said, reports Radar. Duggar’s attorneys argued that multiple people could have used the work computer, but the password evidence convinced the government otherwise.

“We know he is capable of hands-on offenses because he has engaged in them in the past, and we know that the child pornography that Mr. Duggar was looking at involves the sexual abuse of toddlers and young children,” a prosecutor said during the bond hearing. “He has a history, a history dating back 20 years, that shows his sexual attraction to children and the deviousness of his activity.”

During the May 5 hearing, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gerald Faulkner claimed the former 19 Kids & Counting star downloaded files depicting child sex abuse on three different days in May 2019. One of the files allegedly showed children between 18 months and 12 years old being sexually abused. The images were “in the top five of the worst of the worst that I’ve ever had to examine,” Faulkner said, reports E! News.

Homeland Security raided the used car dealership where Duggar worked in November 2019 and seized multiple computers. One of Josh’s computers had the program “Covenant Eyes,” which is supposed to help those with pornography addictions by alerting an individual’s partner about their activity. Duggar’s wife Anna Duggar received reports, but Falkner said some of Duggar’s activity was not being monitored because he used a password-protected network.

The judge ultimately decided to allow Duggar to be released on bail, but he has to live in a home with no minor present. He is living with LaCount and Maria Reber, friends of his parents Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar. If convicted, Duggar could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000 for each charge. The trial was originally scheduled to start in July, but it was later delayed until Nov. 30.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.