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The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal made by former reality television subject Josh Duggar, who was convicted of possessing child pornography in 2021 and sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2022. The decision came Monday morning, per the Associated Press. Duggar featured on the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting.”
Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, the conviction was upheld in lower courts. Duggar’s appeal was centered on the argument that his attorneys should have been permitted to include details about a prior sex-offense conviction against a former employee of Duggar’s car dealership, who had used the computer as the one was seized in the investigation around Duggar. Duggar’s former employee did not give testimony in the trial after the judge ruled that they could not testify on the prior conviction.
Duggar was first arrested by federal authorities in Little Rock, Ark. in April 2021. During his trial, a Justice Department representative testified that pornographic images of sexual abuse against children, as young as 12, had been downloaded onto Duggar’s work computer the year before.
“19 Kids and Counting” was canceled by TLC in 2015 after allegations emerged that Duggar had sexually molested teenage girls, including four of his own sisters and a babysitter. The once-popular reality series focused on the large, Baptist Duggar family, which Josh is the eldest son of. Following the controversy, Duggar’s parents said he admitted his actions and sought counseling. Charges were not pressed at the time.
After his release from prison, Duggar is set to spend 20 years under supervision.
