Josh Duggar Moved to Texas Prison to Finish Serving 12-Year Sentence After Child Porn Conviction

Reality star Josh Duggar has officially been moved to FCI Seagoville in Dallas, Texas, to finish out his 151-month prison sentence, which equates to about 12 years, after his child pornography sentencing, In Touch confirmed on Tuesday, June 28. 

Duggar was transferred to his new facility at 4:08 a.m. local time on Friday, June 24, according to jail records viewed by In Touch. A Washington County Detention officer confirmed to In Touch at the time that Duggar had “left the facility” but was unable to give the exact location where the father of seven was heading out of safety concerns for the officers involved. 

The 19 Kids and Counting alum had been an inmate at the Arkansas jail since December 2021 following his child porn conviction — where he was found guilty of one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography — as he awaited his sentencing trial on May 25. During his sentencing hearing, Duggar’s possession charge was dropped.

It was certain that Duggar would end up in Texas rather than his home state of Arkansas to serve his time behind bars. It was determined at his sentencing hearing that he would be placed at either FCI Seagoville outside of Dallas or FCI Texarkana, which is located on the Texas-Arkansas border. The former reality star’s legal team requested to Judge Timothy Brooks that Josh go to Seagoville.

Judge Brooks agreed that the facility would be more beneficial to Duggar because it has a “good sex offender program.” He recommended during sentencing that the TLC alum seek sex offender treatment while serving his time behind bars, but it is not required of him.

The prosecution asked for the disgraced reality star to serve the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count, respectively. This was due to Duggar’s “prior sexual exploitation of multiple minors” and “the extraordinary efforts Duggar took to obtain and view child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), the nature of the CSAM he obtained and viewed, his efforts to conceal his criminal conduct and his refusal to take accountability for or acknowledge any of his criminal conduct.”

Duggar’s attorneys argued for a more lenient sentence, citing that their client had never been charged or convicted of any crimes in the past and that he receive a sentence that is “sufficient, but not greater than necessary.” 

Their legal memorandum read, “Duggar asks this Court to recognize him for the person he is and the person he can become,” and promised that he “will lead a productive and lawful life following any sentence imposed by this Court.” 

The Sun was the first to report the news.