After her husband, Josh Duggar, was found guilty on both counts in his child pornography case, Anna Duggar (née Keller) appeared solemn as she left the federal courthouse in Arkansas.
On Thursday, December 9, a federal jury found Josh, 33, guilty of one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography after a six-day trial. According to prosecutors, some of those images were of minors under the age of 12.
Before Josh was taken into custody following the guilty verdict, he told Anna, 33, he “loved” her, according to a report from The Sun.
Moments later, the wife of the former 19 Kids and Counting star was photographed walking with other members of the family before she was driven away in an SUV.
Anna, who shares seven children with Josh, their youngest being born in October, remained supportive of her husband throughout the trial and was frequently filmed holding his hand as they entered and exited the courthouse.
“The family prayed and prayed, but also braced themselves for the worse,” a source told In Touch. “[Michelle Duggar] and [Jim Bob Duggar] are trying to stay strong, praying for Josh, Anna and their grandkids. The family is rallying, but some of the kids can’t forgive their brother Josh for what he did. They’re horrified that he didn’t get help sooner.”
The disgraced reality TV star faces up to 40 years of jail time and $500,000 in fines. He is awaiting sentencing and remains in police custody until the date is set; Judge Timothy Brooks announced sentencing will occur in about four months.
Josh was arrested on April 29 and pleaded not guilty the following day. The eldest son of Jim Bob, 56, and Michelle, 55, “allegedly used the internet to download child sexual abuse material,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas shared in a press release at the time. “Duggar allegedly possessed this material, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019.”
During the trial, 10 witnesses took the stand for the prosecution, including long-time friends of the Duggar family, Jim Holt and Bobye Holt. During her testimony, Bobye stated Duggar confessed to molesting young girls while he was a teenager.
In 2015, In Touch obtained a police report from 2006 through the Freedom of Information Act. The report revealed Josh inappropriately touched five underage girls. Two of Josh’s sisters, Jill Dillard (née Duggar) and Jessa Seewald (née Duggar,) came forward as two of his victims during an interview with Megyn Kelly in June 2015.
“[This is] a permanent stain on the family that will never go away,” an insider told In Touch.