Josh Duggar’s prison sentence extended by almost 2 months

Josh Duggar appears in a mugshot via the Washington County Jail.

Disgraced reality TV star Josh Duggar had his 12 1/2-year sentence extended by almost two months after authorities reportedly found he had a contraband cellphone.

In December 2021, a federal jury in Arkansas found Duggar guilty of charges of receiving and possessing child pornography, depicting the sexual abuse of victims “as young as toddlers.” Months later, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks sentenced Duggar to more than a dozen years behind bars. He’s serving his sentence at a low-security prison in Seagoville, Texas.

Prosecutors found the sentence justified by the “depraved” material found on his work computer, behind multiple layers of encryption. One infamous video, titled “Daisy’s Destruction,” depicted the sexual assault of an 18-month-old and was created by Australian human trafficker Peter Scully, who is currently serving a life sentence in the Philippines for his crimes.

The government estimated that they found more than 600 illicit images on Duggar’s computer, though his attorneys dispute that number. Duggar continues to deny having committed the crimes as he pursues an appeal.

In February, multiple news outlets reported that prison authorities transferred Duggar to solitary confinement after finding him “sneaking” a cellphone into prison. A family member of an inmate at the same prison told The Sun that designations to the so-called “Special Housing Unit” (SHU) tend to last for months. Obtaining electronic devices would have been particularly worrisome to prison authorities in light of the crimes of Duggar’s convictions.