FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Former reality TV star Josh Duggar has been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison after being found guilty of downloading and possessing child pornography.
Duggar was found guilty by a federal jury in December of 2021.
On Wednesday, May 25, he was sentenced to 151 months (12.5 years), on one count of receiving child pornography.
It was recommended that he serve his time in either Seagoville, Texas, which has a sex offender treatment program, or a prison in Texarkana, Texas. That decision has not been made public at this time, officials say it will depend on which prison has open space.
He will also have to pay up to $50,000 in fines.
Josh Duggar's father Jim Bob Duggar, and wife Anna Duggar had no comments as they left the courthouse following the sentencing.
After he is released from prison, Duggar will have 20 years of supervised release. Under this release he will have to:
- Register as a sex offender
- Have no unsupervised contact with minors, including his own children
- He will not be allowed to use a computer or any device with internet unless he gets approval
- He must participate in a sex offender treatment program
- He has to comply with a DNA collection
- He can’t use marijuana
Officials say it will be up to the probation officer to decide who gets to supervise Duggar after he is released from prison.
Duggar's defense team says it will immediately appeal the sentencing within the next 14 days.
The Duggar family was the focus of TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" reality show for many years. The show was canceled in 2015 following allegations that Josh Duggar had molested five girls years earlier, including four of his sisters, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier this month, Duggar's defense team and a slew of community and family members asked the judge for leniency in his sentencing, ultimately asking for five years. His defense team submitted documents to the judge and multiple letters from people within the community giving him a recommendation of character.
In May 2021, a federal Homeland Security agent testified that the pornographic images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, had been downloaded the previous year on a computer at a car dealership that Duggar owned.
Receiving child pornography is punishable by five to 20 years in prison. Possession of child pornography depicting prepubescent children has a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment.
Josh Duggar was released from the Washington County Jail into federal custody on Saturday, June 25.
He’s expected to serve his sentence in either Texarkana or Seagoville, Texas.
The bureau of prisons has not updated his location.
RELATED: Attorneys for Josh Duggar request 5 year sentence in child porn case, prosecution calls for 20
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