Supreme Court rejects disgraced reality star Josh Duggar's bid to toss his child porn conviction

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected former reality television personality Josh Duggar's bid to have his child pornography conviction overturned.

Duggar, 36, rose to fame when he appeared on the TLC show, '19 Kids and Counting,' with his parents, Michelle and Bob Duggar, and 18-siblings, which ran from 2008-2015, long before his 2021 conviction. 

The married father of six, and eldest child of the Duggars, was charged with one count of receiving and one count of possessing child pornography, and sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison. 

The high court did not elaborate on the denial of his request for a hearing.

Josh Duggar, 36, pictured in his mugshot, was convicted in December 2021

Duggar, 36, shot to fame is when he appeared on the TLC show, '19 Kids and Counting,' with his parents, Michelle and Bob Duggar, and 18-siblings before his 2021 conviction

FCI Seagoville, the prison where Josh Duggar was sent to serve his 12.5 year sentence

Duggar had pleaded not guilty but a jury found him guilty at trial in December 2021.

Federal investigators started a probe into Duggar, who owned a car dealership at the time, after police in Little Rock, Arkansas found child sexual abuse material that was being shared by a computer traced to him.

Investigators testified that there were images that depicted the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, that had been downloaded on his work computer in 2019.

Duggar's attorneys argued statements he made to investigators during the search of the dealership should not have been allowed at trial since his attorney wasn't present.

Prosecutors said Duggar asked the agents: 'What is this all about? Has somebody been downloading child pornography?' and that he declined to say whether he had looked at such material online, comments that were later used as evidence in the trial.

The appeals panel said although Duggar was read his rights, the agents questioning him made it clear that he wasn't in custody and was free to leave.

In August 2023, lower courts had upheld his conviction, and rejected Duggar's arguments that a judge should have suppressed statements he made to investigators during the image search was rejected.

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the appeal, and he was ordered to remain in prison.

Duggar holding his wife's Anna's hands while leaving the courthouse in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2021 

Duggar with his wife and children. He was sentenced to 151-months in prison for possessing child pornography

Duggar´s attorneys did not ask the former employee to testify after the judge ruled they could not mention the prior conviction.

In 2015, TLC canceled '19 Kids and Counting' after allegations surfaced that Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter years prior.

The tip came into authorities by a family friend, but the statute of limitations on any possible charges had expired.

Duggar´s parents said after the allegations resurfaced in 2015 that he had confessed to the fondling and apologized privately. 

Duggar then apologized publicly for unspecified behavior and resigned as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.

Months later, he also publicly apologized for cheating on his wife and admitted to having a pornography addiction, for which he sought treatment.

The family has been criticized for their views on modesty and purity amid the scandals, including their opposition to using birth control.

Duggar's wife and family regularly visit him as he serves his sentence, sources have said.

During his child pornography trial, it was revealed that Duggar scoured the dark web for sick videos of little girls being tortured, humiliated and abused.

Graphic titles such as 'pedo mom,' 'play tot sweetie', 'Daisy's destruction' and 'ultra hard pedo pedofilia', left little to the imagination.

The warped cache was so disturbing that a seasoned FBI child exploitation investigator said it was 'in the top five of the worst of the worst that I've ever had to examine.'

At the time of the trial, defense lawyers contended that a former employee or hacker could have exploited Duggar's lax internet security to hijack his computer and remotely download the material without anyone knowing.