Josh Duggarappeared in federal court Thursday for thepre-trial hearingin his child sexual abuse material case — during which the prosecution revealed that one of their proposed witnesses is his father,Jim Bob Duggar.
Josh, 33, has been charged with receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. Hepleaded not guiltyfollowing an April arrest andwas releasedpending histrial, set to begin on Nov. 30.
On Thursday, Judge Timothy L. Brooks ordered an evidentiary hearing with witnesses to be held one day before the trial, on Nov. 29, local news outletKNWAreported.
The decision for an evidentiary hearing came about due to a dispute over the prosecution’s notice that they may introduce evidence regarding Josh’s past molestation scandal. In 2015, news broke that Josh had allegedlymolested five underage girlsas a teenager. Two of his sisters,Jill (Duggar) Dillard, now 30, andJessa (Duggar) Seewald, now 29, latercame forwardas two of the victims.
Josh Duggar.Kris Connor/Getty
The defensefiled a motion to exclude any evidence regarding the scandalearlier this month. According to KNWA, during Thursday’s hearing, one of Josh’s lawyers, Justin Gelfand, said he “disagrees adamantly” with the prosecution’s notice about the molestation scandal and their plan to call on two witnesses, one of whom is Jim Bob.
Jim Bob Duggar (left) and Michelle Duggar.D Dipasupil/Getty
Kris Connor/Getty.
William G. Clayman, speaking for the prosecution, said there is a “preponderance of evidence” regarding the molestation scandal and added that the witnesses would testify to “multiple instances” of past child molestation, per KNWA.
Brooks said he would be “very hesitant” to make a ruling just yet, thus ordering the Nov. 29 hearing. However, he did note that he found “pretty strong case law” to support the prosecution’s desire to admit the evidence.
Josh has been accused ofdownloading filesdepicting child sex abuse on May 14, 15 and 16 of 2019 on thecomputer at his then-workplace, a used car lot in Arkansas. Prosecutors believe he hadmore than 200 explicit images of children on the computer.
During a Maydetention hearing, Homeland Security agent Gerald Faulkner described the files allegedly found on Josh’s device as within the “top five of the worst of the worst” he had ever examined.
The agent also said Josh downloaded torrent files that included “a series of child sexual abuse material involving minor children ranging from about 18 months of age to 12 years of age.”
Josh Duggar in 2014.D Dipasupil/Getty
If convicted of the charges against him, Josh faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and up to $250,000 in fines on each of the two counts fora total possible sentence of 40 years, according to an April press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas.
Amid Josh’s legal woes,TLC canceledthe family’s reality series,Counting On. In their statement, the network said it felt it was “important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately.”
Their previous show,19 Kids and Counting,was canceledin 2015 after Josh’s molestation scandal came to light.
Also in 2015, Joshpublicly confessed to cheating on Annaand struggling with an addiction to pornography afterGawkerreported about his active accounts on Ashley Madison — a website that helps to facilitate affairs.
Earlier this week, the judge in his current case granted Josh’s motion to exclude thepast statement about having a pornography “addiction,“meaning it cannot be used during the trial.
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
