Former TV personality Josh Duggar is facing up to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of possessing child pornography.
David Clay Fowlkes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, told reporters:
‘This case represents a significant milestone for the Western District of Arkansas in our continued efforts to combat child abuse.
‘Those who would say that children who were photographed and videoed in a manner similar to the evidence in this case are not abused and are not victims, are clearly wrong.
‘Children who are photographed and videoed in manner such as this are the victims and every time their videos and photos are traded online, uploaded and downloaded from the internet, they are victimized all over again, every single time that that happens.’
‘It first and foremost shows that no person is above the law regardless of their status, regardless of their wealth, regardless of their fame.’
Josh’s sister, Joy-Anna Duggar, and her husband Austin Forsyth have released a statement in support of the conviction.
“Over this last year, as you can imagine, there have been a lot of unanswered questions in our minds regarding Josh,”
“We were able to sit through the trial to hear the evidence for ourselves.”
“We agree with the judicial system’s verdict and we are thankful for the men and women who work tirelessly to protect children and help prevent child sexual abuse material. Our hearts break for all CSAM victims.”
After the verdict, Josh Duggar reportedly told wife Anna that he “loved” her before being taken into custody, which raised a lot of eyebrows as to why she had stayed loyal to him after being found guilty of such a heinous crime.
