Judge rejects Duggar filing for new trial

Federal Judge Timothy L. Brooks rejected former reality television star Josh Duggar filing for a new trial after he was convicted of possession of child pornography.

The judge ruled on Tuesday he would not allow an acquittal or new trial that the defense lawyers requested, KNWA reported. 

A 29-page ruling was handed down after Duggar’s lawyers tried to argue for an acquittal or new trial due to what they say was the government’s lack of timely disclosure for evidence and a lack of evidence that Duggar actually viewed the child pornography. 

Brooks said in his filing with the Western District of Arkansas Federal Court that neither of the arguments had validity, according to the local outlet. 

“There is ample evidence he viewed the images of child pornography that had been downloaded to his business computer,” the judge said.

The other argument regarding evidence was also tossed out as the judge explained the evidence in question was declined anyway.

“The Court finds the screenshots in question were not material to the defense,” he wrote. 

“Based on the Court’s discussion of the trial evidence above, there is no merit to Mr. Duggar’s argument in favor of acquittal. There was significant evidence presented at trial to convince a reasonable jury that Mr. Duggar was physically present during the offense conduct and that he had the mens to commit these crimes,” the judge wrote. 

The ruling came a day before Duggar is suppose to be sentenced for his child pornography conviction in Dec. 2021, KNWA noted. 

The TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” star was arrested in April 2021.

In March, he requested a delay in his sentencing for time to “to pursue additional information and documentation” and said it was difficult to schedule meetings due to COVID-19.