Derick Dillardwas seen in court on Wednesday for the second day of his brother-in-lawJosh Duggar’s child sexual abuse material trial.
Derick sat next to Josh’s wife,Anna Duggar, in the courtroom on Wednesday, arriving after opening arguments had ended. The pair appeared to be amicable and were speaking as they sat down and afterward.
His appearance in court comes one day after it was revealed that his wife,Jill (Duggar) Dillard, could be a potential witness in the trial.
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Josh, 33, was charged with receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. Hepleaded not guiltyfollowing an April arrest andwas releasedpending histrial.
Derick Dillard, Josh Duggar, Jill (Duggar) Dillard.youtube (2); shutterstock
The19 Kids and Countingalum, who previously faced achild molestation scandal, has been accused ofdownloading filesdepicting child sex abuse on May 14, 15 and 16 of 2019 on thecomputer at his then-workplace, a used car lot in Arkansas. Prosecutors believe Josh hadmore than 200 explicit images of children on the computer.
If convicted of the charges against him, Josh faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and up to $250,000 in fines on each of the two counts fora total possible sentence of 40 years, according to an April press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas.
Also on Wednesday, the judge ruled that the prosecutioncan admit his past molestation allegationsas evidence in the current trial.
The previous scandal came to light in May 2015, when Josh apologized for his “wrongdoing” after a 2006 police report revealed that he had been investigated as a teen for inappropriately touching five underage girls. Two of his sisters latercame forwardclaiming to be victims.
Josh Duggar.Washington county arkansas
Most of the Duggar family has refrained from speaking publicly about Josh’s case since he was arrested. Ina brief statement to PEOPLEat the time, Jill and Derick said: “It is very sad.”
Amid Josh’s legal woes,TLC canceledthe family’s reality series,Counting On. In their statement, the network said it felt it was “important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately.”
Their previous show,19 Kids and Counting,was canceledin 2015 following the molestation allegations made against Josh.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
