FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas — Former 19 Kids and Counting reality star Josh Duggar downloaded images and video on a work computer of children as young as 7 years old being “abused,” “violated,” and “exploited,” federal prosecutors said in opening statements on Wednesday.
The jury heard graphic descriptions on Wednesday of the materials from prosecutors, while Duggar’s defense maintained the 33-year-old didn’t have the technical knowledge to discreetly browse the illegal content found on the computer. Duggar, the oldest child of his famous fundamentalist Christian family, was arrested in Arkansas in April and charged with “knowingly” receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials. He pleaded not guilty on both counts. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count if he is convicted.
“Hold him accountable,” US Assistant Attorney Dustin Roberts said Wednesday in his opening statement, looking at the jury and pointing at Duggar, who appeared in court but did not speak. His wife, Anna Duggar, sat in the gallery.
According to prosecutors, Duggar used a device that virtually “split” his HP desktop work computer into “two independent sides,” allowing him to use the computer at the used car dealership’s “shed-like” office for usual business purposes on one side while browsing illegal content on the other.
In one case, Duggar downloaded a video titled “Marissa.zip” which featured a girl about 8 years old exposing her genitals before eventually being put in a cage, Roberts said.
Defense attorney Justin Gelfand argued that Duggar didn’t have the knowledge to install the sophisticated software found on his work computer. He suggested someone else was responsible, describing the case as an “old-fashioned whodunit.”
The defense also blamed government investigators for moving slowly to investigate the illegal activity — which law enforcement software detected in May 2019 but was not flagged by officials until June 2019. According to the defense, law enforcement unfairly associated the activity with Duggar before exploring all other potential avenues, such as his coworkers.
The first witness for the prosecution was Detective Amber Kalmer, who first began to investigate the child sexual abuse activity in June 2019.
She testified on Wednesday that she was able to download portions of the content recorded by her surveillance software. One video she saw contained “two prepubescent females, zoomed in on their vaginal areas, being penetrated by an adult man’s penis,” she said. Kalmer added she was also able to view images of nude young girls with a “focus on the vaginal area.” There were 65 images.
When she first reviewed the content in June 2019, she told the court she didn’t assume the activity was associated with any particular individual — she only had an IP address in Springdale, Arkansas, and alerted a law enforcement colleague there, who agreed to start an investigation. Law enforcement were able to ask the internet service provider who was connected with the specific IP address, leading them to Duggar, she said.
Federal officials seized Duggar’s iPhone, MacBook, and HP desktop computer at the dealership, among other devices, via search warrant in November 2019. The devices were sent to Washington, DC, for review, prosecutors said, and investigators found that Duggar used what is known as a peer-to-peer network on his desktop computer at his business, Wholesale Motor Cars.
These networks involve devices connecting directly to other computers or servers, which allows for easy exchange of files to download or share. These systems are known by law enforcement to be a common way child sexual abuse material is distributed, prosecutors said.
Another law enforcement officer involved in the investigation was expected to testify Wednesday afternoon.
Duggar was released from jail in May after a virtual federal detention hearing and ordered to stay with third-party custodians, LaCount and Maria Reber, who are family friends. The court mandated that he not view or possess any pornography or erotica “of any kind,” nor is he permitted to access the internet on any kind of device. He has to wear a GPS monitoring device and is only permitted to see his children in the presence of their mother — although contact with any other minor is prohibited, according to court records.
The trial comes just days after his wife announced the birth of their seventh child on Nov. 16. His father, Jim Bob Duggar, also recently announced he is running for Arkansas state Senate. He and his wife, Michelle Duggar, have called the allegations against their son “very serious” and “continue to pray” for Josh and Anna’s family.
The family, who became famous for the size of their family and ultraconservative beliefs via the TLC reality show and spinoffs, admitted in a 2015 Fox News interview that Josh Duggar had molested five girls when he was a teenager, including his four younger sisters and a family babysitter. In the interview, they said he and the girls received counseling and the family did not believe there was any future threat of wrongdoing; in their view, he had only been “curious about girls.”
Duggar apologized in a May 2015 statement to People magazine, saying, “Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends.”
In an evidentiary hearing Monday, Duggar’s lawyers argued testimony from Jim Bob Duggar as well as the parents of a girl Josh Duggar is accused of molesting, should be kept confidential during the trial under “clergy privilege” — meaning they should be exempt because they are church leaders.
“The clergy privilege — also referred to as the priest-penitent privilege or the religious privilege — is a firmly rooted privilege that shields certain communications from disclosure,” Duggar’s lawyers said in a brief filed Tuesday.
Prosecutors challenged this notion, and the judge had yet to make a decision as of Tuesday afternoon, the New York Times reported.