April 29 opened on a sour note for Josh Duggar, the former 19 Kids and Counting star. 

He was arrested by deputy United States marshals on charges of violating Federal anti-child pornography laws. 

On April 30, he appeared at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas via Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There he pleaded “not guilty” to two charges filed against him:

• Receipt of child pornography and
• Possession of child pornography. 

Some of that material “depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019,” the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas said in a statement.

Duggar, 33, is set to appear in court again on May 5 for a detention hearing. The trial is currently scheduled for July 6. If he is convicted, he faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 on each count.

He will remain in jail as he awaits a bond hearing.

His arrest came days after his wife, Anna, 32, announced that the two were expecting their seventh child together, a baby girl.

For Duggar, 2015 was the year that ended his fame as the “golden boy” of the Radical Right. 

On May 21, Josh Duggar resigned as director of the Family Research Council, a Right-wing organization dedicated to fighting sexually-oriented issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion and pornography.

Duggar, then 27, had owed his position to being the oldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, of Tonitown, Arkansas.

Until his resignation, the Duggars were famous for popping out 19 babies and championing Right-wing “family values” causes, such as opposing abortion and homosexuality.

Josh Duggar, the “all-American” child molester

Then came the bombshell: On May 21, 2015, Josh Duggar issued a statement to People magazine explaining why he had resigned from the Family Research Council. He later published the statement on his Facebook page.

It read, in part:

“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. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the 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 counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.

What his statement didn’t say was this:

• In 2002-3, as a 14-15 year-old, Josh Duggar had fondled the breasts and vaginas of five underage girls—four of whom were his own sisters.
• Although his parents knew about his perverted activities, Jim Bob Duggar waited more than a year after Josh confessed before contacting the police.
• Police began investigating the abuse in 2006 when tipped by a family friend but concluded the statute of limitations had lifted.
• His father later took him to talk with a close family friend, an Arkansas state trooper. The trooper gave him a “stern talk,” but did not open a case. Nor was Duggar referred for criminal charges.
• The same state trooper was later arrested on child pornography charges—and is now in prison serving a 56-year sentence.
• His resignation wasn’t prompted by a guilty conscience but by two days of media reports on this story.

As a result of these revelations, on May 22, The Learning Channel (TLC) canceled its high-rated “reality” series, 19 Kids and Counting, which had showcased the Duggar family since 2008.

In August 2015, Gawker reported that Josh—then married—had active accounts on Ashley Madison, a website promoting extramarital affairs.

The scandalous revelations turned the Duggars into comedic fodder for standup comedians, cartoonists and visitors to Twitter and Facebook.

One cartoon showed Josh Duggar saying, “I got a word named after me,” and holding a sign defining that word: “Duggar: To sexually abuse innocent victims while trumpeting your own moral superiority. Example: Hold my Bible while I Duggar you.”

And on Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show, Larry Whitmore made Josh Duggar a target for dark humor:

“So you mean to tell me the family that goes around saying gay and trans people are pedophiles preying on America’s young people actually has a pedophile that preys on America’s young people? I hate pedophiles, but I love irony.”

And on Twitter, the criticism continued:

• “Josh Duggar says no child should feel the pain of being aborted. I say no child should feel the pain of being molested.”
• “So daddy Duggar is ok with his son molesting his daughters, but not ok with his daughters leaving for college. Misogyny at its greatest.”
• “Hope no gay wedding cakes were baked while Duggar was molesting girls because that would go against his religious beliefs.”
• “In the Duggar family, you’re reprimanded for kissing before marriage but not for assaulting your siblings.” 

Before Josh Duggar was forced to admit his scandalous depravities, he had hobnobbed with many influential Right-wingers, including:

• Former United States Senators Rick Santorum and Rafael “Ted” Cruz,
• Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush;
• Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee;
• Texas Governor Rick Perry.

It’s a safe bet that he won’t be hobnobbing with them again.