Supreme Court rejects appeal from Josh Duggar, former reality TV star convicted of child porn charges

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Josh Duggar, a former reality television star convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images.

Duggar was on the TLC show "19 Kids and Counting" with his large family before his 2021 conviction.

The court did not elaborate on the denial, as is typical.

Federal authorities investigated after police in Little Rock, Arkansas, found child sexual abuse material was being shared by a computer traced to him. Investigators testified that images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were downloaded in 2019 onto a computer at a car dealership Duggar owned. He was sentenced to 12 and one-half years in prison.

Lower courts upheld his conviction, rejecting Duggar's argument that his attorneys should have been able to ask about the prior sex offense conviction of a former employee of the dealership who had used the same computer. Duggar's attorneys did not ask the former employee to testify after the judge ruled they could not mention the prior conviction.

TLC canceled "19 Kids and Counting" in 2015 following allegations that Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier. Authorities began investigating after receiving a tip from a family friend but concluded that the statute of limitations on any possible charges had expired.

Duggar's parents said after the allegations resurfaced in 2015 that he had confessed to the fondling and apologized privately. Months later, he publicly apologized for cheating on his wife and a pornography addiction, for which he then sought treatment.

Duggar was accused of having an account on Ashley Madison, a popular website dedicated to discreet encounters and extramarital affairs.

Although Duggar didn't address the dating site directly, the former reality TV star released a statement, saying: "I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife."

In 2021, Duggar, the oldest of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's 19 children, resigned from his position at the Family Research Council in Washington, a nongovernmental organization that says its mission is to "advance faith, family and freedom in public policy and the culture from a Christian worldview."

At the time, Duggar posted a statement on the family's Facebook page, writing: "Twelve years ago, as a young teenager I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret." 

Caitlin O'Kane contributed to this report.

In:
• Supreme Court of the United States
• Child Abuse