Josh Duggar recently launched a new bid to overturn his 12-year prison sentence for a 2021 child pornography conviction.
The former 19 Kids and Counting star, 37, asked a court to find him new legal representation as he maintains his innocence over a December 2021 conviction on one count of receiving child sex abuse material. Duggar wrote in court documents filed on May 27 that he was “unable to afford counsel due to [his] current financial circumstances.”
In his court petition, Duggar said he needed representation “to help evaluate” whether his case involved “constitutional violations” and, “if appropriate, prepare a motion to vacate, set aside, or correct my conviction and sentence.” The former reality star specifically alleged that there were “errors in the admission of forensic evidence” during his 2021 trial that may have “involved complex constitutional and evidentiary issues, particularly relating to legal rulings and strategic decisions made during trial proceedings.”
“New legal theories and strategies have emerged in public discourse that may be relevant to the Defendant’s case,” he argued in his letter. “In light of these developments, the Defendant seeks to consult with counsel to fully evaluate the potential of these emerging strategies and how they may support a motion for relief.”
If Duggar’s appeal is unsuccessful, he is scheduled to be released from custody in October 2032. Duggar shares seven children — Mackynzie, 15, Michael, 12, Marcus, 1, Meredith, 9, Mason, 8, Maryella, 5, and Madyson, 3 — with his wife, Anna, who has stood by him following his arrest.
Duggar is carrying out his latest legal fight while serving a 12-year sentence without the possibility of parole at the Federal Correctional Institution in Seagoville, Texas. The prison, which was built in 1940, is located near Dallas, Texas.
It was reported in September 2024 that Duggar was recently moved into a remodeled dorm at Seagoville. It is not clear if Duggar currently has a roommate.
In terms of special privileges, Duggar and other Seagoville inmates do occasionally have access to special meals and events for holidays. In November 2024, reports suggested Duggar and other inmates were given the choice between “roasted turkey and glazed ham or veggie lasagna and dirty rice with soy and kidney beans” for Thanksgiving. Other items on the Thanksgiving menu included “cornbread dressing, turkey gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, two rolls and assorted pies.”
For Christmas Day in 2024, Duggar and others incarcerated at Seagoville reportedly had their choice of “hot oatmeal, a breakfast cake or whole wheat bread with two packets of jelly, whole fresh fruit, margarine, skim milk and coffee with sugar packets” for breakfast as well as a baked cornish hen or herbed cornish hen (or vegetarian options) as their main course for Christmas Dinner. Sides offered for dinner were rolls, “mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, corn casserole, and rice with broccoli and cheese” as well as fruit or a selection of pies for dessert.
In Touch reported in May 2025 that Duggar was dead set against doing any interviews while serving his time. A source close to the former Counting On star told the publication that he was outraged over “pictures someone took of him in the rec yard” at Seagoville and wanted to completely avoid the spotlight.
An insider also denied reports that an insect infestation forced a reduction in food portion size at the prison, allegedly forcing Seagoville inmates to use their commissary funds to buy additional food.
The outlet also reported in December 2024 that Anna was spotted outside Seagoville after visiting Josh for the first time in over two years. The prison is located more than 360 miles from her and Josh’s home at the Duggar family’s 97-acre compound in Tontitown, Arkansas.
Duggar was arrested by U.S. Marshals in April 2021 and charged with one count of receiving child sex abuse material. While Duggar maintains his innocence to this day, he was convicted in December 2021 and sentenced to 12 years behind bars the following May.
“Possessing and viewing child exploitation material is not a victimless crime – every time it’s downloaded or shared, it perpetuates the trauma and re-victimizes the child,” HSI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Dave Denton said in May 2022. “Our special agents are deeply committed to investigating these crimes and pursuing anyone, regardless of circumstances, who preys on innocent members of our society.”
Duggar has been involved in several other major scandals. A 2015 police report alleged that Duggar molested five girls, four of whom were his sisters, when he was a teenager. At the time, he released a statement in which he conceded that he’d “acted inexcusably.”
“I confessed [my actions] to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation,” he said at the time. “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.”
He added: “I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions. I sought forgiveness from those I had wronged and asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life. In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.”
Duggar was later embroiled in the Ashley Madison leak when his name turned up on a list of the website’s clients. (The website was created to help married people discreetly have affairs.)
“I have been the biggest hypocrite ever,” he wrote via his family’s website in August 2025. “While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife. I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
