Josh Duggar Federal Arrest Scandal (TW: CSA)

*For a comprehensive timeline, please see Josh Duggar Scandal Chronology*

Beginning in 2019, Josh Duggar was under investigation by Homeland Security Investigators (HSI) when the federal agents raided his car lot. At the time, it was unknown why the raid took place, with many speculating it had something to do with either the Real Estate Scandal or the Money Moving Scandal or other financial crimes. Unfortunately none of those suspicions turned out to be true.

## Arrest

On Thursday, April 29, 2021, six days after announcing they were expecting their seventh child, Josh Duggar was arrested by the US Marshals, following a warrant issued by Homeland Security. He was taken to and held in the Washington County Detention Center without bail, awaiting arraignment the following day.

## Arraignment

On Friday, April 30, 2021, Josh pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were not read out loud by request of his attorney. However the court documents were leaked within minutes, revealing that he was charged with one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possession of imagery child sexual abuse involving multiple children under the age of 12 years.

At the arraignment, a detention hearing was set for May 5, where bail may be set. Should that happen, the federal judge said he would need to reside with a third party and no one under the age of 18. A trial date was set for July 6 with a pre-trial hearing set for July 1.

### History of the Case

The charges and arrest came after a previous raid on Josh’s business address on November 8, 2019 by Homeland Security Investigators. Previous reports erroneously claimed that federal agents raided the Duggar home. These reports were later retracted and amended. While a spokesperson for HSI did confirm that they were executing a search warrant, he did not confirm what, if any, investigation was taking place, stating they do not comment on ongoing investigations until charges are filed. They did however confirm that they were at Wholesale Motorcars at 14969 Wildcat Creek Road in Springdale, Arkansas. Although Josh was not listed as the property owner, he was listed as the contact person for the business.

At the time of the raid, the Duggar family, through their publicist, denied anyone in their family was under any kind of investigation by local, state, or federal agencies, calling it fake news.

### Attorney

Josh is being represented by Travis Story, the same attorney who attempted to represent him in his Real Estate Scandal but was subsequently disqualified due to a conflict of interest. Story's practice primarily focuses on estate planning, real estate investments, and bankruptcy. He is still listed as an officer with ALB Investments, although Josh is no longer listed as the registering agent.

### Bail Hearing

At the bail hearing on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, the charges were made more clear, accusing Josh of being in possession of 265 images of naked minors, as well as a file that depicted child sex abuse involving children as young as 18 months and as old as 12 years. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gerald Faulkner testified that images he saw were "in the top five of the worst of the worst that I've ever had to examine." He also said that during the 2019 raid he asked to speak with Josh without telling him what he was investigating when Josh "spontaneously" replied with "What is this about? Has someone been downloading child pornography?" Faulkner later testified that when asked point blank about have or seeing the material, Josh refused to answer, saying "I'd rather not answer that question."

#### Detention Hearing Testimony Witness

##### Homeland Security Investigator Special Agent Gerald Faulkner

HSI SA Faulkner said Josh was caught by Little Rock Police. They were able to determine the files were being downloaded onto computers at the car lot belonging to Josh. He said he knew Josh was the one downloading the material bc the password he used was the same as the one he used on his family social media accounts.

Faulkner also gave a detailed timeline of the internet activity at the car lot between May 13 and May 16 in 2019. The activity was logged on three devices the agents seized during the raid: a desktop computer in the office of the car lot, a MacBook laptop, and Josh's iPhone.

###### **Timeline**

May 13, 2019: A Linux partition was installed on the hard drive of the desktop computer. This allowed the hard drive to be sectioned off, where one section had the Covenant Eyes program (a program that would alert Anna should Josh ever look at porn) while the other section bypassed the program and had access to the dark web.

May 14, 2019: 4:49pm, a text was sent from Josh's iPhone at the car lot saying he was stuck there. From 4:50pm to 5:46pm the desktop computer was accessing the dark web, visiting "porn sites associated with rape and files associated with child (sex abuse)."

May 15: 11:15am, a text was sent from Josh's iPhone saying he was at the car lot. at 11:35am, the desktop computer was once again accessing the dark web, downloading files associated with child sex abuse. At 5:08pm another text was sent from Josh's iPhone saying he would be at the car lot until "around 6 or so." Between 5:20pm and 5:40pm, three files were downloaded from the dark web, including 65 images of child sex abuse. At 5:48, a text from Josh's iPhone read "still have customers here. ... no problem probably be here a while."

May 15: Before noon, more files were accessed from the dark web and a picture of the Wholesale Motorcars office desk was taken. Additionally, a zip folder was opened which contained 200 images of naked minors.

##### Federal Probation Officer Diem Nguyen

Officer Diem Nguyen recommended Josh stay in custody, saying the family who were recommended as the third party custodians had concerns, especially since minor children come into the home and there are pistols in the home. Additionally, the wife said she felt uncomfortable being alone with Josh.

##### Third Party Custodians

The family who was recommended as the third party custodians, the Rebers, said they would agree to make adjustments to their home so Josh could live there. This included moving their piano lessons so no minor children would be in the home as well as removing all firearms. The couple said they had an in-law suite where Josh could live for the duration of his trial. The couple said they were friends from church and knew the Duggar family. They said Jim Bob Duggar had called them and asked if Josh could live with him. They also deny receiving any kind of compensation.

The judge stressed that if Josh were to be released to the couple, and should he violate any conditions of his release, they would need to phone the parole officer first, not Jim Bob and not the church.

#### Closing Arguments

The US Atty asked the courts to keep Josh in jail, citing his obvious danger to the community due to the fact that he hid such horrific crimes. They cited his 20 year long history of being sexually attracted to minors. Meanwhile, the defense atty said he should be released bc he is innocent until proven guilty and a third party custodian is willing and able to take him in. They said he had complied with the investigation the entire time.

#### Bail Granted

After a four hour hearing, Judge Christy Comstock granted Josh bail, saying he could be released the following day and ended to adhere to very strict guidelines.

#### Conditions of Release

A list of the partial conditions of release was provided to the public. The conditions were

* Home custody with GPS monitoring
* Live with a third-party custodian
* Restricted to the home at all times except for court obligations, church etc. Additional locations must be pre-approved by the probation officer.
* Report to the probation officer
* No possession or viewing erotica at any time
* No possession of the internet or electronics. Not ask or obtain password(s) of the third-party custodian.
* Contact allowed with his children as long as his wife is present
* Not possess control substances, no firearms, surrender passport, and not obtain one.
* The residence must not have minor children.
* If any conditions are violated an additional prison sentence of up to 10 years my be imposed.

## Delays and Continuances

On June 17, 2021, Josh's lawyers requested his trial date be delayed until after February 2022. The motion states that the independent computer forensic expert hired by the defense team "may need several months" to properly examine the devices, at least one of which is still in federal custody. Justin Gelfand, head attorney for the defense, has five federal criminal trials set to begin between July and November 2021.

On June 21, 2021, the US attorneys filed a response to the defense's motion, stating that while they agree to a delay, "there exists no legally or factually valid reason supporting a continuance until Feb of 2022". The US attorneys agreed to a three month delay, pushing back the trial date to October 2021. On June 29, 2021, the trial was officially delayed and slated to start November 30, 2021.

## Motions

On June 2, 2021, the defense was notified that the USDOJ had a one-page document (a screenshot obtained by law enforcement on a May 14, 2019 IP address) that is said to belong to Josh. His lawyers requested additional information, including the date of the screenshot, information under certain tabs, and the screenshot itself. On July 16, 2021, the USDOJ responded by email and refused the request. "The Information you requested further detailing the downloading of CSAM from your client by 2 other law enforcement agencies is extraneous to the present investigation/case and, therefore, is not covered by the rules of discovery. If you feel we are wrong, please explain to us why the discovery of this information is covered by the rules of evidence."

On July 26, 2021, Josh's lawyers filed a motion to compel, requesting the prosecution provide them with all police reports from Little Rock as well as any related evidence. "Evidence related to the undated screen shot is discoverable pursuant to Rule 16(a)(1)E)(i) as it is 'material to preparing for the defense[.]' For example, it is the defense's understanding that when files are downloaded by law enforcement using the Torrential Downpour software utilized by the Government in this case, detailed logs are created which provide significant information. Specifically, these logs can reveal the type of hardware a file was allegedly downloaded from (i.e., an Apple computer, a PC computer, a smartphone, etc.). By contrast, an IP address reveals only that a certain internet connection was utilized but does not identify in any manner the device from which the file was downloaded."

On August 20, 2021, Josh's lawyer filed a motion to suppress statements and request an evidentiary hearing. The motion asks to suppress statements Josh made on November 8, 2019, saying they were made after he requested his lawyer, thus making any and all statements, as well as any evidence gathered based on those statements, to be "fruit of the poisonous tree" and therefore not admissible in court. According to the motion, HSI SA Faulkner testified under oath that when he arrived on scene, Josh took out his phone and expressed his desire to call his lawyer, but before he could do that, Faulkner took the phone. After this, on the same day, law enforcement "approached Mr Duggar and asked if he would be willing to discuss the details." They then proceeded to question him "inside a government vehicle". The Motion also claims that the agents gave Josh a "Statement of Rights" form in the middle of questioning, which he signed, but his lawyers insist that it is invalid because he asked for a lawyer before being presented with the form. They also claim that the agents approached him multiple times and "physically escorted" Josh to the previously mentioned government vehicle. The argument is made that because Josh was not given a copy of the search warrant until *after* the search was complete, it is reasonable to assume he was not free to leave, thus making his waiver of his rights coerced, not voluntary, and violating his fifth amendment rights to not self incriminate. They conclude that "suppression is necessary" but concede that an evidentiary hearing should be conducted to assess "whether his statements to law enforcement were obtained in violation of his constitutional rights and whether those statements as well as any evidence collected on the basis of those statements, must be suppressed."

## Motion to Dismiss

On August 20, 2021, Josh's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case "based on a violation of the Appointments Clause of the Unite States Constitution. U.S. Const. art. II, §2." They claim "(b)ecause (Kevin) McAleenan and (Chad) Wolf were each installed as Acting DHS Secretary during the investigation of this case by DHS HSI in violation of the Appointments Clause and in violation of Federal Law, this indictment should be dismissed." They argued that the court should "conclude what the GAO and a district court have already concluded\* ... the investigation proceeded without lawful authority ... This Court should, therefore, dismiss this indictment."

\*The US Supreme Court ruled against the Trump Administration's attempts to rescind DACA, a program that helps undocumented peoples obtain citizenship who were brought to the country as children, citing that Wolf was "not lawfully serving" in his position as the Acting Secretary as the Department of Homeland Security. The GAO (Government Accountability Office) also agreed with this and issued a non-binding legal opinion on the matter.

McAleenan "served" as the Acting Secretary from April 2019 to November 2019. Wolf "served" as the Acting Secretary from November 2019 to November 2020.

## Orders on Motions

On September 27, 2021, the Court ruled on multiple motions by the defence: 1) motion to suppress Josh’s statements on the day of the raid on November 8, 2019, including “has someone been downloading child pornography” 2) motion to suppress photographs of Josh’s hands and feet 3) motion to dismiss due to violation of the appointments clause (detailed above) 4) motion to dismiss due to the government not doing forensic analysts on others’ devices. All motions were **denied**.

On October 18, 2021, the Court ruled on Josh’s motion for a Franks Hearing, questioning the integrity of the information given to the judge who signed off on the initial search warrant. The motion was **denied**.

On November 17, 2021, the Court ruled on six different motions by both the defence and the government.

The first motion, concerning trademark inscriptions on the HP laptop seized from the car lot during the initial raid, was **granted**. The Court found the computer to be both self-authenticating and non-hearsay.

The second motion concerned Josh’s prior public statements made in 2015 after it was revealed that he had an account on Ashley Madison, a statement he now says he only made “to minimize the public relations fallout from the embarrassing revelation that [he] was allegedly a member of the website”. The government’s motion to admit this state was **denied** and Josh’s motion to “exclude evidence of allegations concerning adultery or a prior so-called “addiction” to adult pornography” was **granted**. The Court also concluded “Covenant Eyes may be installed to deter or prevent a number of behaviors. The Government can present evidence about the configuration of the hard drive, the applications that were running on the hard drive (including Covenant Eyes), the names of the individuals who purchased, registered, and used Covenant Eyes, and the possible reasons why a user might wish to install Covenant Eyes *without having to disclose* the fact that Defendant previously admitted to an adult pornography addiction.”

The third motion concerned Josh’s intentions to shift the blame to others and attempt to create a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury. The government’s motion to exclude third party guilt evidence was **denied**.

The fourth motion concerned statements such as HSI SA Faulkner’s “top five of the worst” comment regarding the child sexual abuse material made in the bail hearing. The government maintained that it did not intended to present any child sexual abuse material on the devices as worse than any other child sexual abuse material found on the devices. Josh’s motion to exclude improper opinion testimony was **granted**.

The fifth motion concerned sequestering the witnesses before trial. This order came in two parts. As for witnesses who have testified, the motion was **granted**, meaning they can not discuss their testimony with any witness who has yet to testify and has not been released from their obligations as a witness. However, counsel can still confer with their witnesses prior to testimony. For any other relief no specifically discussed in the motion, the motion was **denied**.

The sixth and final motion concerned Josh’s refusal to answer certain questions during questioning. The defence’s motion to exclude any reference to this was **granted**.

## Court Documents

The US Attorney’s Office for Western Arkansas released a statement shortly after the hearing on April 30th, advising that Josh is charged by indictment with (1) receiving and (2) possessing child pornography, some of which ‘depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12’, in May 2019. It adds that if convicted, Josh Duggar faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 on each count. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge should he be found guilty.

It then goes on to add that Josh’s case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, and is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations Fayetteville and the Northwest Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

The Indictment notes lays out in more detail the charges against Josh:

### Count 1: Receipt of Child Pornography

Between May 14 and May 16, 2019, Josh knowingly received child pornography. This is in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252A(a)(2) and (b)(1).

### Count 2: Possession of Child Pornography

Between May 14 and May 16, 2019, Josh knowingly possessed material that contained images of child pornography, including images of minors under the age of 12, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252A(a)(5)(B) and (b)(2).

## Statements from the family

### Jim Bob and Michelle

We appreciate your continued prayers for our family at this time. The accusations brought against Joshua today are very serious. It is our prayer that the truth, no matter what it is, will come to light, and that this will all be resolved in a timely manner. We love Josh and Anna and will continue to pray for their family. (April 30, 2021)

### Jinger and Jeremy

We are disturbed to hear of the charges against Josh. While this case must go through the legal system, we want to make it clear that we absolutely condemn any form of child abuse and fully support the authorities and judicial process in their pursuit of justice. (April 30, 2021)

### Jill and Derick

We just found out this information yesterday. It is very sad. (April 30, 2021)

### Jessa and Ben

We are saddened to hear of the charges against Josh. As Christians, we stand against any form of pornography or abuse and we desire for the truth to be exposed, whatever that may be. Our prayers are with their family as they walk through this difficult time. (May 1, 2021)

### Joy and Austin

The recent accusations brought against Josh sadden us to our core. We have not wanted to be hasty in making any statements while still trying to process the news ourselves. We are especially heartbroken by the reality that there are children in the world being harmed and exploited. We ask for prayer for all those involved, and it is our continued prayer that the truth comes to light. (May 8, 2021)

## Pre-Trial Evidentiary Hearing

The government also filed a motion to allow evidence referencing Josh’s prior bad acts, specifically testimony about the molestation accusations dating back to 2002, citing a “preponderance of evidence”. It intends to call one or two witnesses to testify to “multiple instances” of child molestation. Josh’s lawyer objected to this, citing that Josh was never arrested for those crimes, and claiming the government did not give them enough notice for such testimony/evidence nor provide enough details. The government contended it gave enough notice and that only a summary of the testimony/evidence is required. The judge called for an evidentiary hearing on November 29, 2021, the day before the trial was set to begin.

Two witnesses were called to testify on the molestation allegations, Jim Bob Duggar and Bobye Holt.

The following day, on November 30, 2021, Josh's lawyers filed a motion to exclude Bobye Holt's testimony with the new claim that she was a church elder and therefore Josh's conversations with her were protected under the clergy privilege. The government also filed a motion saying that Bobye herself said she was not clergy and that the conversation was between parents, therefore her testimony should be permitted.

On December 1, 2021, Judge Brooks granted the prosecution's motion, denying the defense's one. Bobye's testimony would be allowed.

## The Trial

To follow updates on the trial, please visit the Josh Duggar Federal Trial (TW: CSA) page.

## A note about terminology

*According to the Child Rescue Coalition, the most shared child abuse file has been seen by more than 2.6 million IP addresses.*

There is a movement by several different advocacy groups and agencies to stop using the term "child pornography".

The COO of Child Rescue Coalition, Glen Pounder, said "when children are involved, it's not child pornography. It's sexual abuse, and it's a crime."

Kevin Metcalf, the founder of National Child Protection Task Force, said "Terms such as child pornography, child porn, kiddie porn, make it easier to live with. This is torture of people, of child."

We here at Fundie Wiki support this cause and will refrain from using the term "child pornography" except where absolutely necessary, such as with court documents, since that is still the legal term. If appropriate, we will also alter quotes, as you can see in HSI SA Faulkner's quote in his bail hearing testimony.

## Support Resources for Domestic and Sexual Abuse

We have complied a comprehensive list of support groups, advocate groups, organizations, and hotlines from all over the world. This list can be found here. If you, or someone you know, is or has been a victim of sexual abuse, please reach out to any of these organizations.

***This Page will be updated as the case progresses.***

## References

1. ↑ https://www.tmz.com/2021/04/29/josh-duggar-arrested-in-arkansas-feds/
2. ↑ https://wgntv.com/news/josh-duggar-arrested-placed-on-a-federal-hold/
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.kadn.com/templates/AMP?contentID=574324451
4. ↑ https://www.nwahomepage.com/knwa/homeland-security-investigations-raid-duggar-home/
5. ↑ https://www.avvo.com/attorneys/72758-ar-travis-story-4306061.html
6. ↑ https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/corps/search\_corps.php?DETAIL=444642&corp\_type\_id=&corp\_name=ALB+Investments&agent\_search=&agent\_city=&agent\_state=&filing\_number=&cmd=
7. ↑ https://people.com/tv/josh-duggar-hearing-agent-reveals-timeline-child-porn-case/?utm\_source=twitter.com&utm\_medium=social&utm\_campaign=social-share-article
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 https://www.nwahomepage.com/northwest-arkansas-news/josh-duggar-granted-release-thursday-hefty-list-of-stipulations/
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/a-closer-look/a-closer-look-josh-duggars-child-porn-arrest-brings-interest-to-the-photographed-victims/
10. ↑ https://fox8.com/news/josh-duggar-asks-for-child-pornography-trial-to-be-delayed-until-2022/
11. ↑ https://twitter.com/garrett\_photo/status/1407375181014786049?s=21
12. ↑ https://fox8.com/news/u-s-attorneys-file-response-to-request-by-josh-duggar-to-delay-child-porn-trial/
13. ↑ https://fox8.com/news/josh-duggars-child-porn-trial-delayed-to-november/
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 https://www.nwahomepage.com/northwest-arkansas-news/duggar-attorneys-accuse-the-government-of-withholding-evidence-in-child-porn-case/
15. ↑ https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21046815-duggar-suppress-82021
16. ↑ https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21046816-duggar-dismiss-appointments
17. ↑ https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/federal-judge-rules-chad-wolf-was-not-lawfully-serving-as-dhs-head-when-he-issued-daca-memo/
18. ↑ File:Josh Motion Orders 1 - denied.pdf
19. ↑ File:Josh Motions Order 2 - denied.pdf
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 File:Josh Motions Orders again - granted.pdf
21. ↑ An allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
22. ↑ https://twitter.com/garrett\_photo/status/1388169802607431684?s=21
23. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/xUg5qMd
24. ↑ https://www.duggarfamily.com/2021/04/duggar-family-statement-2/
25. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/COTFuNir24e/?igshid=rv8ccg7hri0c
26. ↑ https://people.com/tv/jill-duggar-dillard-speaks-out-brother-josh-duggars-arrest/
27. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/csTKMAx
28. ↑ https://imgur.com/38xb6P5
29. ↑ https://www.fourstateshomepage.com/news/local-news/judge-calls-for-evidentiary-hearing-during-josh-duggar-child-porn-pretrial-conference/
30. ↑ File:Court Minutes (29 Nov).pdf
31. ↑ File:Josh Brief (bobye).pdf
32. ↑ File:Govt Brief (bobye).pdf
33. ↑ File:Motion on Molestation - IN.pdf