JOSH DUGGAR HEARING: HOMELAND SECURITY AGENT DETAILS TIMELINE OF CHILD PORN CASE. The agent said images allegedly found on Josh Duggar’s computer were “in the top five of the worst of the worst that I’ve ever had to examine”
May 5, 2021
Greg Hanlon, Ally Mauch
People
A homeland security agent detailed disturbing allegations in the federal investigation into Josh Duggar during a virtual detention hearing for the former 19 Kids and Counting star.
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gerald Faulkner, testifying for the prosecution, alleged Duggar downloaded computer files depicting child sex abuse on May 14, 15 and 16 of 2019.
The files were initially flagged by a police detective in Little Rock, Ark., and then allegedly traced to Duggar's IP address on a computer at his workplace at the time, the Wholesale Motorcars dealership.
One file, according to Faulkner, depicted child sex abuse involving children ranging from 18 months to 12 years of age. Faulkner described the images as "in the top five of the worst of the worst that I've ever had to examine."
According to Faulkner, when homeland security officials raided Duggar's car dealership and asked to speak with him, without informing him they were investigating child pornography, Duggar "spontaneously" responded, "What is this about? Has someone been downloading child pornography?"
Faulkner alleged that when Duggar was asked point blank about seeing or having child sex abuse material in his possession, he said, "I'd rather not answer that question."
Faulkner also said Duggar had a program on his computer called "Covenant Eyes," which the agent described as "accountability software" that monitors and reports objectionable internet use to a partner and is meant to help people with porn addictions. According to Faulkner, the program was registered to Duggar and would send reports to his wife, Anna.
But according to Faulkner, Covenant Eyes was unable to detect Duggar's internet usage on the password-protected network he used.
Duggar was arrested on April 29, and the hearing, which was ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon, will determine whether or not he will be able to leave the Arkansas detention center where he's being held.
During Duggar's arraignment last week, it was ruled that he would not be allowed to live with minors if released on bail.
Duggar, 33, was arrested last week on one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He pled not guilty the following day in court.
On Tuesday, Duggar requested that the court "release him on bail subject to a combination of conditions of release that will reasonably assure his appearance at trial and the safety of the community or any other person," according to a bond motion obtained by PEOPLE.
He argued in the motion that he is demonstrably not a flight risk, citing that he has known about his federal investigation since November and that he has no previous criminal convictions.
The motion further argued that because Duggar is a public figure, it is unreasonable to view him as a flight risk: "Duggar has a widely-recognizable face and has spent the majority of his life in the public spotlight—making any concern that he is a risk of flight all the more unwarranted."
In May 2015, he apologized for his "wrongdoing" following the release of a 2006 police report that revealed that he had been investigated as a teen for inappropriately touching five underage girls. His sisters Jill, 29, and Jessa, 28, subsequently stepped forward as two of the victims.
If convicted of the current charges against him, Duggar could face up to 40 years in prison.
Josh, who tuned into the meeting from an Arkansas detention center, will remain in jail as he awaits a bond hearing.
U.S Chief Magistrate Judge Erin L. Wiedemann said if he is awarded bail, Josh will have to be "in a residence where there's no minor in the home."
When the judge asked, "Do you understand what you've been charged with?" Josh replied, "Yes, your honor."
Josh, 33, was arrested by Homeland Security on Thursday and held in a prison in Arkansas' Washington County, a representative for the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed to PEOPLE.
TLC did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment following his arrest.
Josh has faced various controversies since entering the public eye with his family on TLC reality series, 19 Kids and Counting.
In mid-May 2015, Josh apologized for his "wrongdoing" after a 2006 police report revealed that he had been investigated as a teen for inappropriately touching five underage girls. His sisters Jill, 25, and Jessa, 24, subsequently stepped forward as two of the victims.
Months later, in August 2015, Gawker reported that the oldest Duggar son appeared to have had active accounts on Ashley Madison, a website created to facilitate cheating on your spouse.
Josh ultimately confessed to having a pornography addiction and cheating on wife Anna Duggar in an apologetic statement on the Duggar family website.
"I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife. 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 statement read.
Josh had a previous run-in with Homeland Security when his place of employment, an Arkansas car dealership, was also raided as part of an "ongoing federal investigation" in November 2019, authorities told TV station KNWA at the time. It was unclear whether Josh was the focus of the investigation, and the dealership has since closed.
Various outlets had previously reported that Homeland Security raided the Duggar family home, which they denied.
"We were shocked to see a news report today state that our home was raided by federal law enforcement agencies. This is not true. To the best of our knowledge, it's also not true that any member of our family is the target of any investigation of any kind," a rep for the family told PEOPLE in a statement following the reports.
His arrest comes days after Anna, 32, announced that she and Josh are expecting their seventh child together, a baby girl.
https://people.com/tv/josh-duggar-hearing-agent-reveals-timeline-child-porn-case/
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