Josh Duggar, the eldest son from the reality TV show 19 Kids and Counting, will no longer be allowed to see his children after being charged with possessing child pornography.
U.S. Marshals arrested the 33-year-old reality star last week, where he remains without bail pending a May 5 hearing.
According to People, U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Erin L. Wiedemann ordered Duggar to have no contact children, including his own, as he awaits trial.
Duggar shares six children with wife Anna Duggar, who is pregnant with their seventh child.
Judge Wiedemann also ordered that, should the reality star be released on bond, he will have to live apart from his family and reside with a third-party custodian to ensure he upholds the conditions of his release.
“Given the nature of the charges against him, the court would likely require a third-party custodian that he could reside with and that would ensure compliance with conditions of bond so you all would need to get that line out and inform our probation office of who that person is so they could interview that person,” said during the Friday hearing, which was held virtually over Zoom.
As previously reported, Duggar has been charged on two counts of receiving and possessing child pornography. According to the indictment, he allegedly downloaded child sexual abuse material, some of which depicts children younger than 12, and had it in his possession on May of 2019. Should he be found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.00 for each of the two counts against him.
Duggar pleaded not guilty to the charges during the Friday hearing. His trial is slated to commence July 6, with a pre-trial hearing set for July 1.
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
