Josh Duggar allegedly downloaded child sex abuse photos online and kept the material depicting sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, prosecutors said.
The reason for Josh Duggar’s arrest is out in the open
His attorney Travis Story did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Duggar faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 per count when convicted.
Several family members released statements agreeing with the charges Friday, including his parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, who called the allegations “very serious,” and said they “love Josh and Anna” – Josh Duggars wife – “and continue to pray for their family.”
Jinger Vuolo, one of his younger sisters, posted on Instagram that she was disturbed when they learned of the allegations against Josh.
He is scheduled to be jailed on May 5.
The 33-year-old was arrested by US Marshals in Arkansas and booked into the Washington County Jail on Thursday, just days after Anna Duggar had announced on Instagram, that they were expecting their seventh child.
Duggar gained celebrity thanks to the reality show 19 Kids and Counting, which followed the large conservative Christian family as they navigated family life and their religious beliefs.
The show was canceled in 2015 after revelations, that Duggar, the eldest son, abused five young girls, when he was a teenager, – four of them were his younger sisters – and a family nanny.
Two of his sisters told Fox News that his behavior was due to the fact that he was “a young boy in puberty and a little too curious about girls.”
That same year, Duggar admitted to cheating on his wife through the extramarital affair website Ashley Madison, and said he was addicted to porn.
