Josh Duggar Was In Solitary Confinement For Possession Of A Contraband Phone

Oct 31, 2023

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The new Prime Video docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets dives into the controversial background of the Duggar family, who famously starred on the reality show, 19 Kids and Counting.

The limited series looks at the family's controversial religion, the Institute in Basic Life Principles, as well as scandals the family has faced—including those surrounding the Duggar's oldest child, Josh Duggar.

Josh, as you may have heard, has confessed to sexually abusing children, including two of his sisters, along with cheating on his wife, Anna Duggar.

The docuseries is disturbing and riveting, and even includes commentary from some of Josh's siblings. Given how much Josh comes up in the docuseries, it's understandable to have question about where he is now. Here's what you need to know.

Last May, Josh was sentenced to spend more than 12 years in jail for the possession and receipt of child pornography. He's now in Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) Seagoville in Texas—but his prison sentence was extended by two months earlier this year, according to New York Post.

He is now expected to be released from jail in October 2032.

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Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets (Season 1)

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Judge Timothy Brooks, who oversaw Josh's child pornography trial, revealed in court documents obtained by Insider that Josh sexually abused four of his sisters when he was 14 and 15—and they ranged in age from 5 to 11.

"Their parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, discovered the abuse but did not report it to the police or any state agency," Brooks wrote. "Instead, they decided to keep it a secret and discipline Joshua privately. Unfortunately, whatever Mr. and Mrs. Duggar tried to do to stop Joshua's behavior did not work."

Josh was reportedly just released from solitary confinement after he was allegedly caught with a contraband cell phone.

While at FCI Seagoville, Josh is allowed a maximum of four hours of visitation per month. And he gets no conjugal visits. When Anna visits, he's only permitted "handshakes, hugs, and kisses (in good taste)." Once released, Josh cannot "possess, use, or have access to a computer or any other electronic device that has Internet or photograph storage capabilities without prior advance notice and approval of the U.S. Probation Office."

When news first broke that Josh had molested four of his sisters, Jessa Duggar Seewald and Jill Duggar Dillard defended him, saying it was in the past, they didn't realize it had happened until their parents told them, and they had moved forward. But Jill now says in the docuseries that she felt pressure to maintain her family's image and support her brother in public even though she was one of his victims.

"I felt like I was in a place again of bearing the burden and the weight of (my family)," she said in the docuseries. "Even though you volunteer, it's like you feel obligated to help."

Amy Duggar, Josh's cousin, also spoke in the docuseries. "Jill has strength and tenacity," she said. "She is not one to just keep quiet and silent, and so she's the one that really did something about Josh and hit him the night that he tried to do something to her."

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Josh's sister, Jinger Duggar Vuolo, just released a memoir—Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear—in January 2023. And two months before that, she uploaded a four-minute video to YouTube to talk all about the book.

"This has been the hardest thing I've ever done. But I think it's the most important," she said the clip. "This is a book about me and my spiritual journey, a journey of disentangling truth from lies. In it, I share stories from my life—stories that nobody saw while the TV cameras were rolling: stories of fear and uncertainty but also of discovery and hope."

John and Anna are parents to Mackynzie, Michael, Marcus, Meredith, Mason, Maryella and Madyson, according to Us Weekly. They’re all about two years apart in age, and they all live in the Duggar family compound.

Anna, who married Josh in 2008, now lives on the Duggar family compound in Arizona, according to Decider. She visits Josh regularly in prison in Texas with their seven kids, according to the Daily Mail.

Amy Duggar King tried to offer Anna a place to stay but has not heard back, per People. "I have sent text messages, I have sent emails. I've tried, I've tried," Amy told the magazine. "I don't know if her phone's being monitored. I don't know if she's turned it off [and] she's gotten a new one. I've tried on Instagram, I've tried on Twitter. She wants nothing to do with it at all, and that's her decision."

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