Josh Duggar requests acquittal -lawyers claim Josh did not know what he was downloading

Josh Duggar's legal team filed a 75-page motion on January 19, 2022, for acquittal or at the very least a new trial. Duggar's legal team, which Justin Gelfand leads, argues that the prosecutors failed to provide enough evidence to convict him on two counts.

Photo: Mugshot-via-Washington-County-AR-Jail

According to Fox News, in the courting filing, Duggar's attorney argued, the prosecution did not present evidence that Josh Duggar what the images he was downloading were.

Photo: Screenshot Fox 8 News

WGN 9 shared a portion of the motion which argues which states:
"The evidence elicited at trial does not support a conviction on either count — even in the light most favorable to the Government. The Government failed to adduce any evidence that Duggar' knew that the visual depictions were of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct' —a necessary element for conviction of each count."

Photo: TLC

For those who have been following Josh Duggar's legal troubles, his lawyers' actions should come as no surprise. Following the guilty verdict that landed Josh in jail, his legal team said they would appeal the decision made by the jury.

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Only time will tell if Josh is successful in his appeal, but the evidence against him doesn't add up in his favor. In addition, The Daily Mail recently obtained the audio recordings of the November 2019 raid on his used car lot office where the CSAM was found.

Photo: screenshot TLC

Agents Gerald Faulkner and Howard Aycock convinced Josh Duggar to speak to them voluntarily, and it seems Josh's nerves got the best of him. During the questioning, before any mention of CSAM, Duggar blurted out, "Has someone been downloading child p****graphy?"

As the conversation progressed and the Federal Agents explained what they were investigating, the audio recording of Josh Duggar became more incriminating. When the Federal Agent told him, now was his chance to speak up if he had anything to say, Duggar said, "I'm not denying guilt and I'm not, I'm not saying that I'm, you know, I mean, as far as anything goes, I don't wanna be, I don't wanna say the wrong thing."

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Josh Duggar continued to stumble on his words, "I don't wanna say that I'm guilty or not. I'm just not saying, you know, on searching, finding, accessing inappropriate content at some point, right, at any point in my life."

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If the appeal doesn't go through, Josh Duggar, who is still awaiting sentencing, could face up to 20 years for each count he hopes will be dismissed. Considering Duggar is in solitary confinement for his protection, the former reality star could be spending a long time alone in the future.

Photo: screenshot YouTube

Josh Duggar has been in federal prison since he was found guilty of receiving and possessing CSAM. Duggar is currently awaiting his sentencing and faces up to 20 years living behind bars.

Recently, Duggar requested permission for conjugal visits with his wife of 13 years, Anna Duggar, with whom he has seven children.

Photo: Instagram@annaduggar

Unfortunately for Josh, there won't be any "quality time" with his spouse for quite a while.

Pictured: Josh and Anna on their wedding day.

Photo: Instagram@annaduggar

The Federal Bureau of Prisons website states very clearly that the FBP "does NOT permit conjugal visits" and that any physical contact with visitors is limited to chaste "handshakes, hugs, and kisses" and only "at the beginning and end of a visit."

However, Josh can't expect much sympathy from his family members, many of whom are very upset by his actions. Jill Dillard, Josh's sister has been one of the most out spoken on the matter.

Josh Duggar's cousin Amy King took to Twitter, where she hinted at the fact that she thought Josh was a sociopath.

Amy shared a tweet that listed the "Traits of a sociopath," which included, "-Lack of remorse, guilt or empathy -constant deception -inability to form emotional attachments -superficial charm - dishonesty -manipulative -reckless behavior." Underneath the comments section, King wrote, "Remind you of anyone?"

Although Josh's parents continue to show him support, his cousin Amy, brother-in-law Derick, and several of Josh's sisters have spoken out against their brother.

The former reality star from TLC's '19 Kids and Counting' was convicted in the fall of 2021 of downloading and possessing inappropriate images of mistreated children onto his work laptop computer.

Josh is seen here smiling for his latest mugshot as he was booked into jail.

Photo: Screenshot YouTube, People

The federal trial began at the end of November in Fayetteville, Arkansas, ended on December the 8th.

Photo: screenshot YouTube - KSFM 5 News

The jury found 33-year-old Josh Duggar guilty on December the 9th.

The reality star turned used car salesman faces up to 20 years of federal prison and $250,000 in fines for each count.

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According to The Sun, Judge Timothy L Brooks (pictured) said Duggar would receive his sentence in four months.

Photo: Screenshot of video by US Senate Judiciary Committee -

Josh Duggar was detained immediately following his guilty conviction despite deferred sentencing.

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Per The Sun, Judge Brooks said, "Mr. Duggar 100 percent has been compliant awaiting trial. I appreciate that, and I wanted to acknowledge that, however, because of the guilty offenses, he must be detained regardless of flight risk so there will be a mandatory detention. The marshalls will set that up."

Photo: screenshot YouTube -News Nation Now

In response to the guilty verdict, Josh Duggar's legal team (pictured) gave the following statement to NBC News: "We appreciate the jury's lengthy deliberations, we respect the jury's verdict, and we intend to appeal."

Photo: screenshot YouTube 5News

According to The Sun, Josh's wife, Anna Duggar, who has stood by him despite the terrible findings uncovered regarding her husband, remained stoic while the guilty verdict was read.

Josh, on the other hand, according to The Sun reporter, "didn't cry after hearing the result, Josh was "teary-eyed" and "solemn."

Pictured: Josh Duggar in 2015

The Duggar family were the stars for many years of TLC's hit show '19 Kids and Counting', which followed the lives of the fundamentalist Christian mega family. Josh, the oldest of the 19 kids was featured heavily as the godly golden child.

The family always spoke about their conservative family values and the strict upbringing of their godly children.

Photo: Wikicommons

The children could not watch TV, had to dress very modestly, save their first kiss for marriage, and of course, most famously, always were told to leave the number of children they had "up to God" as their mother and father had.

However, the façade of the perfect family was broken when in June of 2015. InTouch magazine reported that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's oldest son had allegedly inappropriately touched five young girls when he was a teenager.

To make matters worse, several of the girls that Josh Duggar touched inappropriately were, in fact, his own sisters. In an interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly,  two of Josh's sisters even spoke about the abuse.

Photo: screenshot 'Inside Edition'

In addition, InTouch reported that his parents failed to report to the authorities about this misconduct for 16 months, and the only punishment Josh Duggar received was a "stern talking to."

Photo: screenshot 'Inside Edition'

Josh Duggar was at that time working for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian family values group in Washington DC, so he was quickly asked to resign

The public was shocked by this revelation, but even more dirt was revealed on Josh Duggar two months later....

In August of 2015, it was revealed that Josh Duggar had also been an active member of the affair website 'Ashley Madison.'

Photo: screenshot TLC

Hackers had leaked information from the database of the website, and many famous clients were revealed. However, the public was shocked to hear that Josh Duggar was among them.

Josh is married to Anna Duggar, with whom he had four children at the time (they now have 7!) and frequently spoke out against infidelity and any unconventional family formations that went against the bible.

Photo: Instagram@annaduggar

So, Josh blamed the devil, claimed to have a sex addiction, and was checked into a rehab center to help him overcome his issues.

Photo: screenshot TLC

During his time at the rehab center, several "adult" entertainment stars revealed that they had had an affair with Josh Duggar over the years.

Following his rehabilitation, Josh seemed to be accepted by his family and friends again. After all he had repented, surely there weren't any more dark secrets...

Just when it seemed that the dust was settling around Josh Duggar and he could resume a "normal" life with his wife Anna again, claiming to have overcome his problems, Duggar was arrested.

According to People magazine, on April 29th, 2021, Josh was arrested for receiving and possessing inappropriate videos featuring minors. Josh pled not guilty, and on November 30th, his trial began.

His father, Jim Bob Duggar, who ran for Arkansas State Senate durng his son's trial, paid Josh's lawyer fees and seems to believe his son is innocent.

According to Variety, his family's reality show 'Counting On', in which he did not appear due to his black sheep status, was canceled by TLC. Although Josh was no longer shown on the reality show, his wife Anna and six children were featured regularly.

Photo: TLC

All eyes were on Josh Duggar on November 30th, when his trial began. Duggar refused plea deals and faces many years in federal prison.

Photo: screenshot KFSM Channel 5

The public is eager to know if his wife Anna will continue to "stand by her man" as she has done all these years even now that he has been found guilty.