A trial began this week.
Content warning: This article contains harrowing details of alleged child sexual abuse.
Jurors at the child sexual abuse material trial of TV star Joshua Duggar were reportedly made uncomfortable from being shown graphic imagery that investigators described as within “the worst of the worst” they’ve ever seen.
Duggar, who along with his siblings and parents starred on the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, was arrested for and pleaded not guilty to possession and receipt of child sexual abuse material back in April of this year.
Homeland Security special agent Gerald Faulkner said that the imagery allegedly found on his computer was “in the top five of the worst of the worst that I’ve ever had to examine” during a detention hearing in May, People reported at the time.
On Wednesday, a detective testified about a video file depicting child sexual abuse that was allegedly downloaded to Duggar’s computer before showing some of that video on screen to the court, according to the US Sun.
The court was also shown 65 photographs of a nude child.
The video and images depicted were reportedly very graphic, leaving jurors looking “uncomfortable.”
On Thursday, a Department of Justice Agent alleged that Duggar had downloaded a horrific video showing a “3-month-old baby being tortured and sexually abused.”
Agent James Fottrell described it as “one of the most offensive videos that I’m familiar with throughout my whole career”.
The trial continues, with the possibility of Duggar’s estranged sister, Jill Duggar Dillard, taking to the stand to testify at some point.
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Jill previously identified herself as one of five young girls Duggar allegedly molested during his teen years.
Their sister Jessa Seewald identified herself as another, and two of the other alleged victims are also reported to be Duggar sisters.
In 2015, Duggar reportedly admitted to and apologised for molesting four girls, writing in a statement: “Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends.
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“I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address my situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counselling… I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions.”
Duggar’s wife Anna released her own statement at the time, saying he confessed his “difficult past mistakes” to her prior to proposing and that counselling had “changed his life”.
The couple welcomed their seventh child mere weeks before the trial began this week, with Anna standing by him throughout.
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Duggar’s legal team failed in their bid to exclude the previous allegations and apology from the current trial, with US District Judge Timothy Brooks ruling that jurors may hear evidence that he admitted to molesting four girls nearly 20 years ago.
The Duggar family rose to fame as 19 Kids and Counting documented their life as a massive, ever-expanding and devoutly Christian family. TLC cancelled the show when the molestation allegations emerged in 2015.
In June of this year, the channel officially pulled the plug on its spin-off, Counting On, in response to the child sexual abuse material charges, though Joshua Duggar himself had not featured on the channel since 19‘s cancellation.
If you have been affected by any of the details of this article, you can contact Women’s Aid’s 24 hour helpline on 1800 341 900, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 77 8888, or Childline on 1800 66 66 66.
