Josh Duggar Trial Date Moved Amid ‘Counting On’ Cancellation

On Tuesday, Us Weekly reported that Josh Duggar‘s trial date has been pushed back by four months. While he was originally set to face trial in July following his April arrest, it will now begin in November. This news comes amid reports that his family’s TLC reality show, Counting On, was canceled in light of Duggar’s arrest on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.

Us Weekly reported that Duggar aimed to have his trial pushed back until February 2022. However, that did not come to pass. Instead, a judge granted Duggar’s request to push the trial back by four months. As a result, the conference will begin on November 18 of this year. The trial will officially begin on November 30. Pre-trial proceedings were originally set to begin this Thursday, July 1. Duggar was arrested in Arkansas back in April. He was charged with receiving and possessing child pornography, charges which could see him facing 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each count if he is found guilty.

Duggar has entered a not guilty plea, which his attorney entered on his behalf in April. While Duggar himself has not released a statement about the news, his parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, have. They shared a statement to Us Weekly, which read, “The accusations brought against Joshua today are very serious. It is our prayer that the truth, no matter what it is, will come to light, and that this will all be resolved in a timely manner. We love Josh and Anna [Duggar] and continue to pray for their family.” A week after Duggar was arrested, he was released from jail. He will reportedly be staying with family friends Lacount and Maria Reber and will be monitored by GPS while being confined to their home.

As previously stated, this update in Duggar’s case comes amid news about his family’s reality show Counting On. On Tuesday, TLC revealed that they were canceling the show. While Duggar was not on the program, he is the brother of the main siblings who were featured on the show. TLC did not give a specific reason why Counting On was ending, but they did allude to Duggar’s arrest in their statement. They stated, “TLC will not be producing additional seasons of Counting On. TLC feels it is important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately.”