LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal appeals court docket on Monday upheld Josh Duggar’s conviction for downloading little one sexual abuse photos, rejecting the previous actuality tv star’s argument {that a} choose ought to have suppressed statements he made to investigators through the search that discovered the photographs.
A 3-judge panel of the eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the enchantment by Duggar, whose giant household was the main target of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting.” Duggar was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 12 1/2-year jail sentence.
Federal authorities investigated Duggar after Little Rock police detective discovered little one sexual abuse materials was being shared by a pc traced to Duggar. Investigators testified that photos depicting the sexual abuse of kids, together with toddlers, had been downloaded in 2019 onto a pc at a automobile dealership Duggar owned.
Duggar’s attorneys argued that statements he made to investigators through the search of the dealership shouldn’t have been allowed at trial since his lawyer wasn’t current. Prosecutors stated Duggar requested the brokers, “‘What is this all about? Has somebody been downloading child pornography?” and that he declined to say whether or not he had checked out such materials on-line, feedback that had been later used as proof within the trial.
The appeals panel stated that though Duggar was learn his rights, the brokers questioning him made it clear that he wasn’t in custody and was free to go away. The panel additionally famous that he wasn’t arrested on the finish of his questioning.
“To the contrary, he ended the interview on his own and then left the dealership – hardly an option available to someone in custody,” the court docket dominated.
Justin Gelfand, an lawyer for Duggar, stated they disagreed with the court docket’s reasoning and would consider all choices.
The court docket additionally dismissed Duggar’s argument that his attorneys ought to have been capable of ask in regards to the prior sex-offense conviction of a former worker of the dealership who had used the identical laptop. Duggar’s attorneys didn’t ask the previous worker to testify after the choose dominated they might not point out the prior conviction.
The panel dominated that the choose within the case struck the appropriate steadiness by permitting the previous worker to be questioned with out citing the previous conviction. The court docket additionally rejected Duggar’s problem to the {qualifications} of the analyst who testified that metadata on the previous actuality star’s iPhone related him to the crime.
TLC canceled “19 Kids and Counting” in 2015 following allegations that Duggar had molested 4 of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier. Authorities started investigating the abuse in 2006 after receiving a tip from a household buddy however concluded that the statute of limitations on any doable fees had expired.
Duggar’s mother and father stated after the allegations resurfaced in 2015 that he had confessed to the fondling and apologized privately. Duggar then apologized publicly for unspecified conduct and resigned as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group. Months later, he additionally publicly apologized for dishonest on his spouse and admitted to having a pornography habit, for which he then sought therapy.
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