Josh Duggar
Josh Duggar | |
|---|---|
2021 mugshot of Duggar | |
| Born | Joshua James Duggar March 3, 1988 Tontitown, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Former reality television personality, former political activist |
| Years active | 2004–2015 |
| Known for |
|
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Spouse |
Anna Keller (m. 2008) |
| Children | 7 |
| Parent(s) | Jim Bob Duggar (father) Michelle Duggar (mother) |
| Relatives | 18 siblings, including Jana, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, and Joy-Anna |
| Convictions | Receipt of child pornography (18 U.S.C. § 2252) Possession of child pornography (18 U.S.C. § 2252) |
| Criminal penalty | 12 years and 7 months in federal prison, 20 years supervised release, $10,000 fine, $40,100 special assessment |
Joshua James Duggar (born March 3, 1988) is an American convicted sex offender and former reality television personality. The eldest of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar's nineteen children, Duggar and his family gained fame as the focus of the TLC series 19 Kids and Counting, which spun off from a series of television specials. His 2008 wedding was aired on the show. He served as the executive director of FRC Action, a lobbying political action committee sponsored by the Family Research Council, from June 2013 to May 2015. He resigned from the position after he was reported to have molested multiple underage girls, including four of his siblings, when he was aged between 12 and 16.
These revelations led to the cancellation of 19 Kids and Counting on July 16, 2015. One month after the show's cancellation, the Ashley Madison data breach revealed that he had paid for sexual services while married. The fallout was named one of the "10 Big Scandals of 2015" by USA Today, and The Washington Post listed Duggar as one of the fifteen most hated people on the Internet for that year. While the family returned in the Counting On spin-off with episodes released 2015–2020, Duggar did not take part in its production.
On April 29, 2021, Duggar was arrested by U.S. Marshals on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. Soon after his arrest, the family's Counting On series was cancelled. Duggar was found guilty on all charges on December 9, 2021 and sentenced to more than 12 years in prison on May 25, 2022.