Joshua Duggar, age 33 of Springdale, Arkansas was arrested yesterday for receiving and possessing material depicting the sexual abuse of children. Duggar allegedly used the internet to download child sexual abuse material and possessed this material, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019.

Duggar is charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. If convicted he faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines up to $250,000.00 on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence.

Joshua Duggar pled not guilty to the two charges today in court. Duggar’s attorney requested during the hearing that he be released on bond. The Judge informed Duggar’s attorneys that if he is eligible for release, he would be required to reside with a third-party custodian and that he cannot be in the presence of minor children if he is released.  A hearing set to determine if he will be released from jail is scheduled for May 5th at 1:30 p.m.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice.

The Duggar case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations Fayetteville and the Northwest Arkansas ICAC Task Force.

Josh Duggar starred in the reality shows “19 kids and Counting” and “Counting On”. Josh is the eldest son of Arkansas parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar whose life and that of their children were chronicled on television. TLC canceled “19 Kids and Counting” in 2015 following a sexual abuse scandal involving Josh. His current arrest comes days after his wife Anna Duggar announced that they are expecting a 7th child, a girl.