Josh Duggar's Investigation Lasted 2-Years, How Long Were Jury Deliberations?

Former car salesman Josh Duggar, was convicted of receiving and possessing child pornography which ushered in a firestorm of damning social media posts and comments. After a lengthy investigation and evidence gathering process, the 33-year-old's trial officially ended on December 9, 2021.

The Duggar family made headlines several times over the years, but this is by far the most damaging. The trial resulted from the Department of Homeland Security's efforts in an almost two-year-long investigation on Duggar.

The 33-year-old's defense team insisted that the child pornography images could have been released into the business computer by a hacker, but the persecution proved otherwise. Another thing of note was the length of time the jurors spent deliberating the case after the evidence and testimonies were presented to them.

Jury selection on the Duggar trial started on November 30 and lasted only one day. December 1 saw the opening statements, and then the testimonies from various experts started pouring in. The trial exceeded the expectations of legal experts and went on past a week due to its delicate nature.

Unlike most legal experts, the presiding federal judge expected the trial to spill into the following week. Closing arguments for the trial were made on December 8, and the verdict was reached on December 9. The trial lasted eight days in which two witnesses were called for the defense, and five came out for the prosecution.

The defense had witnesses that ranged from digital forensics Michele Bush to an ex Homeland Security Investigations task force member Daniel Wilcox and a Police Department narcotics officer. In retaliation, the prosecution brought in five witnesses, including friends of the Duggar family, Jim, and Bobye Holt.

The 12 man jury began deliberating the case in the afternoon of December 8. Most critics who assumed that the verdict would be released at the end of the day were proved wrong. After requesting a break, the jurors returned the following day to further meditate on the evidence and testimonies.

This move led to some tension in some family critics, but the jurors returned to the courthouse at 9 a.m. the next day to announce their verdict. After seven hours of deliberation, the jury found Duggar guilty of the two child molestation charges.

The Fayetteville jury found Duggar guilty, and the 33-year-old is facing around 20 years in prison. He was given up to $250,000 in fines for each child pornography charge. The presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks, declared that Duggar would be officially sentenced in about four months. According to the Fayetteville police station, the former reality television star was taken into custody after the verdict was announced.

In a statement to USA TODAY by Justin Gelfand, one of Duggar's lawyers, he said, "We appreciate the jury's lengthy deliberations, we respect the jury's verdict, and we intend to appeal."

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Clay Fowlkes, issued his statement, asserting that the verdict sent the proper message that child abuse would always be an important case for prosecutors.

"This verdict also demonstrates that no person is above the law," he said. "Regardless of wealth, social status or fame, our office will continue to seek out all individuals who seek to abuse children and victimize them through the downloading, possession, and sharing of child pornography."

When Jim and Bobye Holt were called to testify, Bobye admitted that Duggar once confessed to her that he molested younger girls when he was a teen. On April 29, 2021, he was arrested and released to a third-party custodian on May 5, 2021.

Duggar was in TLC's "19 Kids And Counting" before it stopped airing in 2015. Reports claim TLC pulled the show out due to various molestation accusations against Duggar. The 33-year-old has molested four of his 18 siblings and a babysitter. He apologized publicly for his addiction to pornography and breaking his marriage vows. He also called himself "the biggest hypocrite ever."

While Duggar's trial was still in court, his father, Jim Bob Duggar, was running for a special election for the empty seat of the state Senate in Northwest Arkansas. Jim was also a significant part of the TLC show and formerly worked in the Arkansas House. He is one of the four Republicans vying for the party's nomination.