Josh Duggar Rejected Plea Deal Before His Arrest

Josh Duggar, who was arrested in April and is currently facing two counts of receiving and possessing child pornography, was reportedly offered a plea deal weeks before his arrest but turned it down. According to legal documents obtained by The Sun, prosecutors sent Josh’s attorney an email with both a plea agreement and waiver of indictment attached, meaning he would directly take a plea in lieu of going to trial. 

The motion was revealed as prosecutors responded to Duggar’s legal team’s request to “suppress evidence.” 

“The plea agreement contains a statement of facts, which should be a good summary reference when you are reviewing the discovery material. 

“Significantly, Duggar’s cellular phone-including text messages he sent and pictures he took places him at the car lot on the date/times the child pornography images were downloaded and distributed.”

A recap of their meeting at Homeland Security was also sent by prosecutors. Duggar’s legal team was shown the pictures and video pornographic evidence collected on the TLC alum’s computer. The government proposed showing Duggar’s attorneys “all the child pornography images discovered during the forensic search,” but the offer was turned down. An oral agreement on sentencing wasn’t brought up. 

Josh didn’t accept the deal, obviously, and was charged weeks later. He pleaded not guilty on both counts. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 30. Duggar’s legal team has filed a series of motions in various attempts to have the case dismissed. Last month, his attorney filed a motion claiming that the government’s investigation “proceeded without lawful authority” since the two previous heads of Homeland Security were occupying the office “without lawful authority.”

Duggar’s attorney’s later tried to pin the charges on someone else –– another employee who worked at Josh’s car dealership at the time. Only identified as Witness #1, the individual previously testified that he had watched pornography on his cell phone while on the job, but that he hadn’t touched the office computers. They also admitted to staying at work sometimes overnight. Investigators said they searched the witness’s phone but didn’t find anything incriminating related to the Duggar case. 

The Counting On alum is currently on home confinement at family friends LaCount and Maria Reber’s home in Arkansas until he appears at trial. Josh will have unlimited access to his children, so long as his wife Anna (who is pregnant with their seventh child) is present. 

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.