Josh Duggar’s 12.5-year prison sentence extended, placed in solitary confinement
Josh Duggar, a former reality TV star known for his role in the TLC series "19 Kids and Counting," has had his 12.5-year prison sentence extended by nearly two months, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, and is now reportedly placed in solitary confinement.
Duggar, who was convicted in 2021 on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography, was scheduled to be released on Aug. 12, 2032, but online prison records for Duggar now show his release date as Oct. 2, 2032. He has been serving his sentence at the low-security federal prison Federal Correctional Institute Seagoville near Dallas, Texas.
Duggar is in solitary confinement since he was allegedly caught last month with a contraband cellphone, Fox News reported.
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Duggar was arrested in April 2021 after being accused of having over 200 images of child porn on his devices of children "ranging from about 18 months of age to 12 years of age."
The images were found in a computer at a car dealership he owned. According to prosecutors, the images were downloaded in 2019, and Duggar had installed a partition on his computer to hide the illicit content from his wife, Anna.
Last May, Duggar was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison after his request for a retrial or acquittal was denied. The 35-year-old father of seven was also ordered to pay fines of $50,100.
Josh Duggar pled not guilty to the charges, and his defense claimed someone else was responsible for the illegal files on the computer. Investigators found Duggar's claim to be unlikely.
Although he did not comment on the sentencing, lead defense attorney Justin Gelfand stated at the time that Duggar maintained his innocence.
Duggar previously admitted to molesting his sisters when he was younger. His history of abuse resulted in the cancelation of the family's reality show.
In August 2015, Josh Duggar also confessed to cheating on his wife following reports that he had created an account with Ashley Madison, a dating website specializing in extra-marital affairs.
"I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have been unfaithful to my wife," stated Duggar at the time. "I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him."
The Duggar family was featured on "19 Kids and Counting" and "Counting On." The Duggars are an ultra-conservative Christian family that lives in Arkansas.
After serving his sentence, Duggar will be on parole for 20 years and can't have unsupervised contact with minors, including his own children. He will also be required to attend sex offender treatment.
