Josh Duggar’s child pornography appeal has officially been terminated, court documents obtained by In Touch confirm.
The disgraced TLC personality’s legal team filed an appeal after he was found guilty during his December 2021 trial and requested a new trial. However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has chosen to uphold Josh’s conviction.
A mandate had been issued in his case on Thursday, October 5, according to legal paperwork viewed by In Touch.
Josh’s most recent legal appeal was filed in October 2022 and his lawyer, Justin Gelfand, requested a new trial. His legal team faced the prosecution during a court hearing in February, where Gelfand argued that federal agents allegedly seized the 19 Kids and Counting alum’s phone when he tried to contact his attorney during a raid at his business over a year before he was arrested in April 2021.
“[Duggar] takes out his phone, physically puts it to his ear… for the purpose of contacting his legal counsel,” Gelfand said at the time. “Federal agents physically took the phone out of his hand and deprived him of the ability to communicate with his legal counsel.”
He continued, “He was told he was free to go. No reasonable person in his shoes at that time would believe that.”
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately denied his right to a new trial on the basis that Josh, 35, retained freedom of movement throughout the encounter with officers, In Touch confirmed at the time.
Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar’s eldest son was originally scheduled to be released from Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) Seagoville in Texas on October 10, 2032. However, In Touch exclusively revealed in September that he will now be able to leave eight days early on October 2, 2032.
An Arkansas jury found Josh guilty on one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography in December 2021. The latter charge was ultimately dropped during his May 2022 sentencing hearing.
Josh was originally sentenced to serve 12.5 years behind bars and was expected to be released on August 12, 2032. However, his sentence was extended after he was moved to the facility’s Special Housing Unit (SHU) for allegedly possessing a cell phone in March.
More to come…
Katherine Schaffstall
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