Why Josh Duggar Is Trying to Delay His Sentencing

Josh Duggar has requested that his April 5 sentencing for federal child pornography charges be delayed. The 19 Kids and Counting alum is currently awaiting sentencing after he was convicted in December of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials. Although his sentencing hearing was scheduled for next month, the former TLC star has filed a motion to delay the hearing, citing an inability to meet with his legal team.

In court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Duggar, “by and through undersigned counsel, respectfully requests that this Court continue the sentencing hearing in this case by approximately 30 days.” The motion, dated Saturday, March 19 argued that “the defense would benefit from a brief continuance to provide additional time to pursue additional information and documentation related to a possible 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) consideration.” Duggar’s legal team also asked for a continuance due to “certain reasonable COVID-19 precautions” taken at the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas, which have reportedly caused Duggar and his lawyers to face “some delay in scheduling certain attorney-client privileged meetings by videoconference.”

The motion added that “this brief continuance” would give Duggar’s team time to gather more evidence and documentation. According to In Touch Weekly, the motion states that the inquiry “is not intended to unnecessarily delay or hinder the proceedings,” but instead, to “allow Duggar sufficient time to acquire all relevant information which will be necessary for fully briefing Section 3553 argument, to confer with his counsel and to alleviate certain scheduling issues arising out of unrelated cases.”

Duggar has been held in the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas since his December conviction. Federal authorities began investigating Duggar initially after a Little Rock, Arkansas police detective found child sexual abuse material files were being shared by a computer traced to Duggar at the car dealership he owned, which a federal agent would later testify depicted the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers. The reality personality is currently facing 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the two counts of which he was convicted. U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks in February scheduled Duggar’s sentencing for April 5 in Fayetteville. In late February, Duggar’s defense team filed a motion with the Western District of Arkansas Federal Court requesting a new trial or acquittal, claiming that Duggar was “deprived of significant constitutional rights and accusing the prosecution of being silent on “the real issues.” There has not yet been a response to the recent motion to delay Duggar’s sentencing.