A federal judge has sentenced reality TV's Josh Duggar to about 12 1/2 years in prison for his conviction on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography.
Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence the former "19 Kids and Counting" star on Wednesday to the maximum 20 years. Duggar's lawyers sought a five-year prison term. Duggar was arrested in April 2021 after authorities found child pornography on a computer at a car dealership that he owned. He maintains his innocence and his attorneys say they will appeal.
TLC canceled the show featuring Duggar and his large family in 2015 amid allegations that he molested five girls years earlier, including four of his sisters.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes said he was pleased with the sentence. “While this is not the sentence we asked for, this is a lengthy sentence,” Fowlkes said.
Defense attorney Justin Gelfand said he is grateful Brooks declined to impose the full 20-year sentence that prosecutors requested.
“We’ll immediately file the notice of appeal within the next 14 days,” Gelfand said.