Josh Duggar’s wife still defends her husband, although, his cousin asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence.  

TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting TV star Josh Duggar was sentenced to12 1/2 years in prison for receiving child porn today. His wife stands by him still, although his cousin asked that he receive the maximum sentence.

Prosecutors believe that Duggar has a “deep-seated, pervasive and violent sexual interest in children”. The judge sentenced Duggar to 12 years and seven months in prison. U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes said, “While this is not the sentence we asked for, this is a lengthy sentence”.

Defense attorney Justin Gelfand maintained Duggar’s innocence but was hoping for a five-year sentence. He is also planning to appeal the case. “We’ll immediately file the notice of appeal within the next 14 days,” Gelfand said.

Duggar has been under investigation since 2006 when he was accused of molesting 4 of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier. His parents said that he confessed to fondling and apologized. In 2015 the allegations resurfaced causing Duggar to quit lobbying for the Family Research Council and apologize publicly. Around that time, Duggar also apologized to his wife for his porn addiction and sought treatment.

Little Rock police arrested Duggar in April 2021 after finding child porn on a shared computer at a car dealership that he owned. Prosecutors cited the graphic images of the children involved and Duggar’s past behavior with his sisters.

Court records show that prosecutors do not believe that children will ever be safe with Duggar. They wrote, “There is simply no indication that Duggar will ever take the steps necessary to change this pattern of behavior and address his predilection for minor females”.

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