Shraman Mitra
Joshua James Duggar, better known as Josh Duggar, became a household name in reality TV following his appearance on the now-infamous TLC show ’19 Kids and Counting.’ Interestingly, while Josh gained a lot of fame through his public career, he has been involved in a few unethical and outrightly criminal activities throughout his lifetime, shocking fans around the world. Moreover, as indicated in Prime Video’s ‘Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,’ Hulu’s ‘The Ashley Madison Affair,’ as well as Netflix’s ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal,’ his unethical behavior spans his personal life too.
What Did Josh Duggar Do?
Born to Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, Josh is the eldest among all nineteen siblings who appeared on the reality show ’19 Kids and Counting.’ While the show documented the everyday lives of the Duggar family, Josh’s appearance on the series propelled him into the spotlight and paved the way for a very successful reality career. Subsequently, he was also an integral part of other popular productions like ‘The Comfort Zone,’ as well as several spin-off movies and documentaries, including ‘Duggars Make a Movie,’ ‘GrandDuggar First Birthday,’ ‘Duggars’ Big Family Album,’ ‘On the Road with 16 Children,’ and ‘Raising 16 Children.’ As if that’s not enough, Josh even appeared in two special television documentaries, namely ’14 Children and Pregnant Again!’ and ’16 Children and Moving In.’
However, Josh received massive public attention in 2015 when several girls, including two of his own sisters, Jill and Jessa, claimed he had inappropriately touched them back in 2006. These accusations obviously led to a massive controversy, but he decided to own up to his mistakes and even apologized to his victims publicly. Since Josh was actually serving as the Executive Director of FRC Action, a lobbying political committee sponsored by the evangelical Family Research Council (FRC) at this point, he resigned once the news broke.
Although Josh claimed he was regretful of his actions, in August 2015, sources found he had not one but two separate accounts on Ashley Madison, a dating site designed to help one cheat on their spouse. Josh subsequently confessed to his cheating ways, yet it soon became evident he and his wife, Anna Duggar, would try to find their way out of the issue. Then, things went further downhill once Josh was arrested for possessing and receiving child pornography in April 2021. This was obviously serious, and despite the fact Josh pled not guilty in court, he was convicted on two counts of obtaining as well as owning explicit content from a minor in December of 2021.
Josh Duggar is Incarcerated Today
Even though Josh was undoubtedly convicted on two counts, the judge presiding over his case ultimately dropped one of them without prejudice before sentencing him to 151 months (12 years and seven months) in prison without parole in May 2022. Additionally, he was also ordered to serve 20 years of probation following his release, all throughout which he would only be allowed to meet his minor children under proper supervision.
Naturally, the ruling did not sit well with a few members of the Duggar family, as Josh’s mother has insisted on her son’s innocence. On the other hand, his wife, Anna Duggar, also wrote a letter to the judge asking for leniency in the sentencing, as she believed her husband had a good heart underneath. Additionally, Josh’s attorney stated that they were looking forward to filing an appeal against the conviction.
Following his final sentencing, reports indicated that Josh could be imprisoned at either a prison complex in Seagoville or in Texarkana, both of which are in Texas. Therefore, today, at the age of 36, the former reality star as well as father of seven is incarcerated at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution-Seagoville in Dallas County, from where he is expected to be released on October 2, 2032.
Read More: Are Josh and Anna Duggar Still Married?
