After a delay of over a month, next week brings the long-awaited sentencing of Josh Duggar after he was found guilty of receiving and possession of child pornography back in December.
Before Judge Timothy L. Brooks decides on the 19 Kids and Counting alum’s fate, folks on either side get to have their say with letters. We’ve already seen what the mother of one of his victims had to say — as well as his wife Anna Duggar and mother Michelle Duggar.
It’s these latter letters that the prosecution has now had a chance to respond to. In case you haven’t seen, Anna wrote about her hubby:
“Joshua is an engaged dad who gladly throws a football with his sons, listens to our daughters play a new song they have learned on the piano, helps answer homework questions, or lends a hand sweeping up spilled crackers. He is a kind, loving, supportive, and caring father and husband—his primary focus in life. My children and I rely on Joshua for financial, emotional, and physical support.”
Michelle also complimented her son as a family man, writing:
“Side by side, Joshua and his family have built forts, learned how to work on bicycles and other vehicles, gone camping, hiking, fished and played countless games and sports – together!”
Ladies, the problem isn’t how he treats his own children (gah, we hope!), it’s how he looks at other people’s children that makes him a threat to society!
Related: The Story Of The ‘Most Offensive’ Thing Josh Is Accused Of Downloading
But don’t listen to what we have to say. Just check out the prosecution’s savage response to the family’s letters! They blast Josh’s legal arguments for leniency, writing to the judge in docs obtained by The Sun:
“To support his argument, Duggar relies on claims from his wife, his mother, and others that he is ‘deeply devoted’ to his faith and family.”
Are they just quoting here? Or are they implying that sarcastic finger-quote thing? Hmm. They continue:
“He claims that the writers are ‘extremely supportive while fully aware of his conviction[s],’ and that this ‘will enable him to make the most of the rest of his life and to work hard to ensure that his children’s lives are impacted as little as is possible’ by his trafficking in CSAM.”
Oh man, that last little addition — reminding of “his trafficking in CSAM”, or “child sexual abuse material.” It’s shade but also, we mean… just facts. They family is talking about protecting his children from any consequences from what he did to other people’s children.
The prosecutors also blasted his argument that he’s being treated more harshly because of his reality TV background. They write:
“These claims only underscore the appropriateness of the Government’s sentencing recommendation. Indeed, his supportive family and public-facing and privileged lifestyle make his pattern of criminal conduct all the more baffling.”
Yep! Even though he’s famous — and everything he does isn’t exactly under the radar — he still went through with what he did. Not just the CSAM, the cheating on his wife, too! Remember that? The prosecutors do. They wrote:
“Despite achieving some level of fame through reality television as an adult, he is better known at this point for his behavior outside his family’s show, including his sexual improprieties and criminal sexual conduct.”
The government blasted the letters from the Duggar women, pointing out:
“More importantly, none of these letters meaningfully grapple with his crimes or his sexual proclivities toward prepubescent girls.”
It’s true, in playing up his good qualities, his family members don’t exactly sound like they’re planning on getting him any counseling or whatever else he might need. And isn’t that the issue in the first place? His parents learned about the child molestation when he was so young — and Jim Bob Duggar chose to sweep it under the rug instead of ever really doing anything about it? The prosecutors argued in this coddling environment it’s “unlikely” Josh will “ever receive the treatment and accountability needed to prevent him from reoffending should he maintain this posture.”
Related: Amy Duggar Demands Josh Be Sentenced To At Least 20 Years For His ‘Sick’ Crimes
They added:
“In fact, given the apparent success of his blame tactics with some of the individuals he intends to surround himself with after his release from incarceration, it is not just unlikely — it is inconceivable.”
Hard to argue with that, considering how often Josh was spared the rod, so to speak, and just did worse and worse things.
His legal team did have a response to the prosecution’s harsh sentencing recommendation, writing:
“The sentence the Government seeks is excessive, entirely unwarranted, and unprecedented given the alleged crime for which Duggar stands before this Court for sentencing.”
They clarified:
“To be clear, nobody denies the extent to which real children are victims of child pornography crimes — but the Government’s focus in its sentencing memorandum is clearly intended to provoke an emotional response in the hopes that this Court will hand down an unnecessarily harsh sentence in this case.”
Yeah, the darn government are really making it sound like this is a really gross, deplorable crime! It’s almost like they think a high profile offender should get a really tough sentence to hopefully prevent more people from engaging in some of the worst behavior imaginable!
What do YOU think will happen to Josh??
[Image via TLC/YouTube/Washington County Sheriffs Office.]
