TONTITOWN, ARKANSAS: Josh Duggar requested a rehearing of his child pornography conviction. The 'Counting On' alum had asked for a new trial.
A federal appeals court upheld the child pornography conviction of former reality TV star Josh Duggar, court documents show. A three-judge panel of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Duggar's appeal.
Duggar, whose large family was the focus of TLC’s '19 Kids and Counting', was convicted in 2021 and is serving 12 and a half years in prison after being sentenced in May 2022. Duggar was also ordered to serve 20 years of supervised release after his prison term and to pay a $10,000 fine.
Why is Josh Duggar appealing for rehearing in child pornography conviction?
Josh Duggar's attorneys filed a request for additional time to consult with him about the appeal decision and move forward by filing a request for a rehearing.
In February this year, Josh Duggar's attorney asked a federal appeals court panel to reverse the former reality TV star’s conviction for downloading child pornography, saying investigators violated his rights by seizing the phone he was using to try to call his lawyer during the search that found the images.
Duggar, 35, was arrested in April 2021 after the police found child pornography files were being shared by a computer traced to Duggar.
On appeal, lawyers for Duggar argued Brooks made unconstitutional rulings preventing Josh Duggar from presenting a complete defense and a new trial should be ordered per Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
Josh Duggar's attorneys told the appeals court that the jury shouldn't have been allowed to hear incriminating statements because he hadn't had a lawyer at the time.
“What federal agents did is they physically took the phone out of his hand and from that point forward, deprived him of the ability to communicate with his legal counsel, as was his constitutional right,'' Justin Gelfand, Duggar's attorney, said in February, per Associated Press.
Did court approve 'Counting On' alum Josh Duggar's appeal?
Josh Duggar's Appeal of his conviction has been denied by the US Appeals Court. The court affirmed the district court's conviction.
The court also rejected his challenge to the qualifications of the analyst who testified that metadata on the former reality star's iPhone connected him to the crime. The appeals court denied his request for a new trial and found his arguments without merit.
Per court documents revealed by Katie Joy on Instagram, Duggar appealed for an extension of 14 days to file a petition for a rehearing.
However, the court granted the extension for two weeks with a filing due September 5, 2023, per Katie Joy's Instagram post's caption.
Duggar appealed his case to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in an effort to suppress incriminating statements he made to federal authorities and to overturn a lower court’s decision to deny another person’s previous sex offense convictions from being mentioned during the trial, according to court documents.
Who is TLC star Josh Duggar?
Joshua Duggar is a former reality television personality, now a convicted sex offender.
The eldest of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar's nineteen children, Josh Duggar and his family gained fame as the focus of the TLC series '19 Kids and Counting', a spin-off from a series of television specials.
He is part of the Duggar family and was featured on the show alongside his parents and siblings.
Why was 'Counting On' alum Josh Duggar arrested?
Josh Duggar gained considerable attention in 2015 when it was disclosed that he had been involved in indecent actions and had admitted to molesting several underage girls, including some of his sisters, when he was a teenager.
This revelation led to the cancellation of '19 Kids and Counting'.
Additionally, in 2015, he was involved in another scandal when his name appeared in the data breach of the Ashley Madison website, which was a platform for individuals seeking extramarital affairs.
The breach exposed information about his subscription to the site and his alleged infidelity.
'19 Kids and Counting,' star Josh Duggar was arrested on April 29, 2021, on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.
Investigators testified that images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were downloaded in 2019 onto a computer at a car dealership Duggar owned.
They also found evidence that Duggar had used the computer to access a website known for its collection of child sexual abuse material.
On December 9, 2021, a jury found Duggar guilty on both counts, that of receiving child pornography and of possessing child pornography.
The convicted sex offender is now serving 151 months in prison after being caught with hundreds of files of child pornography on his work computer.
On May 25, 2022, Josh Duggar was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison. His earliest possible release is October 2, 2032.
