The prosecution and defense inJosh Duggar’s child pornography case are currently engaged in a dispute over evidence, ahead of Duggar’strialthis fall.
The19 Kids and Countingalum was thenarrestedthis past April following the investigation, on one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Hepleaded not guiltyin court and is required to stay withthird party custodians, Lacount and Maria Reber, as he awaits his Nov. 30 trial.
Josh Duggar.Kris Connor/Getty
Duggar’s defense team subsequently requested that the government provide all discovery relating to the screenshot, all reports from the two other officers and all reports from Kalmer, among other things.
Though the government provided some relevant log files, they noted that the materials requested relating to the two other officers were “extraneous” to the case and therefore not discoverable. They added that they only provided the screenshot in the first place “to simply make the defense aware that other officers not involved with this prosecution had downloaded [child sex abuse material] from the target IP.”
After additional back and forth, the defense filed an official motion on July 26 claiming that the prosecutors were refusing to turn over evidence that “Duggar is legally and constitutionally entitled to.”
In response, the prosecution filed its response on Aug. 9 calling the case “straight-forward” and accusing the defense of embarking on a “fishing expedition” for evidence that does not exist or is irrelevant to the case.
“[The defendant’s] motion represents nothing more than a request to embark on an impermissible fishing expedition for evidence that is either nonexistent, immaterial to his defense, or already produced,” it said. “Accordingly, the defendant’s motion should be denied.”
Lawyers for Duggar did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Josh Duggar.Danny Johnston/AP/Shutterstock
Duggar, who prosecutors believe hadmore than 200 images of children on his computer, is no stranger to controversy. In 2015, a 2006 police report that surfaced indicated he was investigated for molesting five underage girls, including sistersJill (Duggar) DillardandJessa (Duggar) Seewald. He said at the time that he was “extremely sorry” for the “wrongdoing.”
That same year,Duggar revealed that he cheated on his wife, Anna Duggar, and admitted to struggling with an addiction to pornography afterGawkerreported about his active accounts on Ashley Madison — a website that helps facilitate extramarital affairs.
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Amid his current legal controversy, TLC canceled the Duggar family’s reality series,Counting On. In their statement, the network said it “feels it is important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately.”
The show premiered on TLC in 2015 and served as a spinoff series to19 Kids and Counting, which ran from 2008 to 2015. The spinoff was created amid the previous molestation controversy surrounding Duggar.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
