Former reality TV star Josh Duggar has been sentenced to over twelve and a half years in prison after a jury convicted him on child pornography charges that included downloading a collection of “the sickest of the sickest” child pornography.
US District Judge Timothy Brooks announced Duggar’s sentence at the end of his recently concluded hearing. Prior to the sentencing, Judge Brooks denied several motions by Duggar’s defense team that argued it was an unfair trial since Duggar had remained in custody while waiting for his sentence.
The sentencing comes after Duggar was found guilty of possessing and receiving child pornography in December 2021. Duggar has had previous issues concerning child pornography and molestation that led to the end of his reality TV series with his family.
Read on to find out more.
The Judge Called The Images Extremely Disturbing
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Brooks told Duggar’s wife, Anna Duggar, that “the images were some of the worst that this court has ever encountered.” Press has also described the images and videos found on Duggar’s laptop as some of the worst child pornography ever seen.
During his trial in December, the court heard the testimony of how Duggar used the desktop at his car dealership office to delve into the dark web and find hundreds of disturbing pictures and videos. One film, in particular, titled “Daisy’s Destruction,” features the torture and rape of an infant.
Another set of pictures shows a young girl being whipped before being tied and locked in a small dog cage. During and after his sentencing, Duggar showed very little emotion, and as the US marshals led him away, he turned back to Anna and made a heart shape with his hands, and she did the same sign.
As Anna and Duggar’s father, Jim Bob Duggar, left the court to head home, they were quiet. The sentencing concluded the three-year journey the family had been on ever since police started tracking Duggar’s online activity in 2019.
Judge Brooks Denied Josh Duggar’s Defense Motion
Just the day before his sentencing, Judge Brooks denied a motion by his defense to overturn his guilty verdict on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence. They requested that the court either overturn or order a fresh trial to reconsider the reliability of existing evidence.
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Duggar’s attorneys also asked the court for a five-year stretch, which is the lightest punishment for someone convicted of Duggar’s charges. They explained that Duggar is a good father to his kids and a committed Christian and deserved leniency. Duggar himself has always maintained that he is innocent and intends to appeal his verdict.
His defense team also argued in court that the child porn images found were over 600 and that only a small percentage had been investigated, all of which failed to be classified as “sadistic or masochistic.”
In contrast, prosecutors demanded the court sentence Duggar to 20 years, the maximum sentence, because they said his crime was too sadistic. They also argued that Duggar had never tried to get treatment or accepted his warped desires and that this created the possibility that he would repeat his crimes.
Prosecutors Brought The Mother Of A Victim From The Videos
To illustrate to the jury the extent of the damage that child pornography does to its victims, prosecutors reproduced the testimony from the mother of one of the girls in a video Duggar had downloaded onto his computer.
The young girl’s mother said (Via DailyMail) “My daughter is a real person. She was horribly victimized to provide this source of ‘entertainment.’ She is exploited anew each and every time an image of her suffering is copied, traded, or sold. I asked my daughter what she most wanted to ask of the judge. Her request: ‘Please, don’t let them pretend no one’s getting hurt!'”
She also had some things to say to Duggar as well. She said, “She had some words for the defendant as well: ‘don’t you know no one should do that to a little girl? Don’t you know it hurts?'” Judge Brooks described her testimony as “chilling” and said, “For the victims, it never goes away. It’s on the internet, probably forever.”
Josh Duggar’s Family Pleaded For Leniency
Duggar’s family, especially Anna and his mother, Michelle, both wrote letters to the court to plead for leniency in his sentencing. In Anna’s letter, she even compared Duggar to former US president Ronald Reagan to illustrate his tough work ethic, care, and decency.
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She wrote, “Joshua has a compassionate heart and he is willing to make personal sacrifices for the benefit of others. Joshua embodies the quote from Ronald Reagan: ‘There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
In response, prosecutors highlighted that Duggar’s “privileged lifestyle” and his supportive family and friends made the extent of his crimes even more baffling and surprising. They also brought testimony from Bobye Holt, a family friend of the Duggars, who testified in a 2015 molestation scandal that ruined the Duggars’ TLC reality show.
Holt tearfully testified that Duggar revealed to her that he had groped and penetrated his younger sisters when he was 15. He allegedly violated them during “bible time” and while they slept at night.
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