Anna Duggarsupported husbandJosh Duggarin court Thursday for the pre-trial hearing in his child sexual abuse material case.
The two also shareMackynzie Renée, 12,Michael James, 10,Marcus Anthony, 8,Meredith Grace, 6,Mason Garrett, 4, andMaryella Hope, who will turn 2 later this month.
Josh wasarrestedin April on one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. The 33-year-old19 Kids and Countingalumpleaded not guiltythe following day in court and was laterreleasedfrom jail to his designated third party custodians,family friends Lacount and Maria Reber. His trial is set to begin on Nov. 30.
From left: Anna and Josh Duggar.Anna Duggar/instagram
Though the judge noted at the time that she could not “in good conscience” release Josh to his then-pregnant wife and their children, she granted him"unlimited contact"with the kids, so long as Anna is present. Aside from his own children, however, Josh has not been permitted to have contact with any other minors, including his many nieces and nephews.
“She thinks Josh is innocent,” the source said, adding, “[Josh] has seen [his] children with Anna there. She has to be there.”
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Anna Duggar/instagram
Josh has been accused ofdownloading filesdepicting child sex abuse on May 14, 15 and 16 of 2019 on thecomputer at his then-workplace, a used car lot in Arkansas. Prosecutors believe he hadmore than 200 explicit images of children on the computer.
If convicted of the charges against him, the former reality star faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and up to $250,000 in fines on each of the two counts fora total possible sentence of 40 years, according to an April press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas.
Josh has faced various other controversies in the past. In May 2015, he apologized for his “wrongdoing” following the release of a 2006 police report that revealed he had been investigated as a teen for inappropriately touching five underage girls. His sistersJill, 30, andJessa, 29, subsequentlystepped forward as two of the victims.
That same year,Josh revealed that he cheated on Annaand admitted to struggling with addiction to pornography afterGawkerreported about his active accounts on Ashley Madison — a website that helps to facilitate affairs.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
