Arkansas judge sets hearing on Josh Duggar’s motion to vacate child porn conviction

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A federal judge has scheduled a hearing on Josh Duggar’s motion to vacate his child pornography conviction.

Duggar, 37, who is currently serving more than 12 years at the Seagoville Federal Corrections Institution in Texas, claimed in a motion earlier this year that he was denied a fair trial and his constitutional rights were violated.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks set a hearing for 1:30 p.m. on March 4 in Fayetteville. Duggar asked the judge in June for a lawyer to be appointed to help him; however, the motion was denied.

Duggar’s motion cited eight grounds of alleged wrongdoing in the court.

Duggar claims that evidence was withheld during the trial to harm him, including witness testimonies that he says only came after “years of animosity and media attacks,” according to the filing.

He also claims that an expert from the Department of Justice manipulated evidence and lied under oath.

Duggar mentions the court’s decision to recover juvenile records of the Duggar family, which he says caused harm to his sisters.

Finally, Duggar claims that TLC and Discovery Communications released a statement, made by him, that he says he did not consent to.

According to the filing, Duggar did not raise any of these alleged issues during his post-conviction proceedings.

This move also came after post-conviction relief was denied by local judges, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Josh Duggar’s conviction

Duggar was found guilty of downloading and possessing child pornography in 2021 and was later sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison.

He was first arrested on April 29, 2021. Federal agents recovered multiple electronic devices and pieces of evidence from his place of employment at Wholesale Motorcars.

Special Agent Gerald Faulkner called one recovered video file “in the top five of the worst that I’ve ever had to examine.”

After six days of witness testimony, Duggar was unanimously found guilty.