Former reality star Josh Duggar was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison after being convicted of child pornography possession charges. Now his large, famous family is reacting in various ways.
Josh’s wife Anna, the mother of their seven children, has been standing by her husband all along. Some other members of the tight-knit Duggar family, however, came to different conclusions about the eldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle, who became famous on their TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting.”
Cousin Amy (Duggar) King expressed her feelings with Instagram followers just hours after Josh’s sentencing. Amy said she wished Josh had gotten closer to the maximum punishment, which was up to 20 years.
“I knew him getting the maximum sentence wasn’t going to be the easiest to prove since it’s his first offense in the judge’s eyes — which I hate — but at the same time, he cannot have his computer, he cannot hurt [and] exploit any more children and when he sees his kids, he has to be supervised,” she said.
Amy continued, saying “where he’s going … the prisoners are going to take care of him” but also said drama with Josh is “far from over.”
“Josh’s sickness stems from somewhere, and eventually we will hear about the trauma. I don’t know when, or how, or who but eventually I think more will come out,” she continued. “But hopefully tonight, I can sleep for the first time ever and rest assured that another monster will be put behind bars makes my heart feel a little lighter.”
Josh’s younger sister Jill (Duggar) Dillard had mixed emotions about the ordeal.
“The last several weeks and months have been difficult emotionally. Yesterday was another one of those hard days,” she and husband Derick Dillard wrote in a statement.
“Until now, he has yet to be held accountable to the extent necessary to cause change in his dangerous pattern of behavior,” the couple continued. “It is unfortunate, but it seems that it may take spending over a decade in federal prison, and still more on probation, for Josh to have any potential for rehabilitation to the point he can safely live in society again.”
The Dillards also said they wanted Josh to, “begin to get treatment and begin to work toward a lifestyle where he is less likely to reoffend.”
“We continue to love Josh and his family and will be there for them however we can,” they wrote in conclusion.
Josh’s brother Jason said he believes the judge was “fair” but also said he’d never stop loving his sibling.
“Yesterday my oldest brother was sentenced to 151 months, around 12 1/2 years in prison for receiving and possessing child pornography,” the “Counting On” alum wrote on his Instagram Story Thursday, per Page Six.
“In my opinion, judge Timothy L. Brooks was fair in his ruling giving Josh a sentence that would be considered below the median for the crimes he has committed,” Jason shared. “My heart is grieved over the choices my brother has made, his actions do not reflect that of a Christian believer and have doubtlessly defamed my Lord and Saviors [sic] name!!”