Josh Duggar Found Guilty of Child Pornography
A guilty verdict begs important questions of a family long eager to forgive, forget
Content warning: This story discusses child sexual abuse.
A federal jury in Arkansas has found Josh Duggar guilty of receipt and possession of child pornography.
Duggar was a childhood star of reality show 19 Kids and Counting, part of a family that came to prominence with a novel abundance of children and a conservative Christian theology that included homeschooling, plus long hair, skirts, and dresses for daughters raised to convey “modesty.” The family’s narrative centered on faithful “family values” and purity.
Josh Duggar was responsible for the show’s cancellation in 2015 after a police report resurfaced showing Duggar had been investigated for molesting multiple girls as a teen, including four of his sisters. In 2015, the family framed his actions as due to being “curious,” touching mostly occurring over clothing while the girls slept.
Around the time of the show’s cancellation, the Duggars released a statement that asserted “with God’s grace and help, Josh, our daughters and our entire family overcame a terrible situation, found healing and a way forward.” They expressed hope their situation would point people toward faith in God and a way through similar times.
At the recent child pornography hearing, a family friend testified that Duggar admitted to her in 2003 to having molested four girls, some as much as a decade younger than himself. The family friend, Bobye Holt, said Duggar told her he digitally penetrated one victim’s vagina while the girl sat on Duggar’s lap as he read her Bible stories. (Charges were never filed in the molestation case.)
In May 2021, Duggar was arrested after more than 200 images were downloaded to his devices depicting sexual abuse of children ranging from 18 months old to 12 years. A Homeland Security Investigations agent described some of the images as “in the top five of the worst of the worst that I’ve ever had to examine.”
Days prior to the arrest, Duggar’s wife, Anna had just announced her pregnancy with the couple’s seventh child. While Duggar awaited hearing, he was allowed to live with…
