Former reality television star Josh Duggar pleaded not guilty to two child pornography charges at a virtual hearing on Friday, a day after he was arrested in Washington County, Arkansas.
The eldest child of the Duggar family, whose day-to-day life was featured on the hit TLC reality series “19 kids and Counting” from 2008 until 2015, was charged with receiving and possessing child pornography.
The 33-year-old conservative political activist — who served for two years as the executive director of FRC Action, which counts limiting access to pornography among its causes, before resigning in 2015 over a sex abuse scandal — appeared at the hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas via Zoom.
Prosecutors said that Duggar used the internet to download pornographic material, some of which depict the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019, The Associated Press reported.
His attorneys said that “they intend to defend this case aggressively and thoroughly,” according to a statement released by his defense team.
“In this country, no one can stop prosecutors from charging a crime. But when you’re accused, you can fight back in the courtroom — and that is exactly what Josh intends to do,” Duggar’s attorneys, Justin Gelfand, Travis W. Story and Greg Payne, added.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years behind bars, as well as fines up to $250,000 on each count.
In 2015, Duggar admitted to molesting multiple girls when he was a teen.
“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends,” Duggar told People at the time. “I confessed this to my parents, who took several steps to help me address the situation.”
The scandal led TLC to cancel “19 kids and Counting,” and Duggar to resign from his position at FRC Action — a lobbying group sponsored by the Family Research Council that seeks to “mobilize Values Voters on behalf of faith, family, and freedom,” according to its website.
———
