Photo: Washington County Sheriff's Office
Things aren't looking good for Josh Duggar.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Dec 01, 2021
As the proceedings for Josh Duggar’s child pornography case continue and the jury has been selected, many are curious who will step up to the witness stand and give their testimonies.
Duggar was charged with “knowingly” receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials back in April.
He has pleaded not guilty on both counts. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count if he is convicted.
Among the list of potential jurors who could take the stand, Judge Timothy Brooks mentioned the names of the eldest Duggar's siblings Jill and Jedidiah Duggar, People magazine reports.
Jill and Jed Duggar may act witnesses in Josh Duggar's trial.
During the hearing on Tuesday for the jury selection, Judge Brooks asked the 52 potential jurors a series of questions regarding the case and the witnesses that were being selected.
When Books read Jill, 30, and Jed’s, 32, names, he asked if any of the jurors had any idea who the "19 Kids And Counting" stars were — to which they all replied that they didn’t.
At the moment, it’s uncertain whether or not the siblings will be testifying for the prosecution or the defense.
Towards the end of the questioning and hearing, twelve jurors and four alternates were finally selected for the trial that has begun today morning, December 1st, 2021.
Judge Brooks also announced that evidence of Duggar’s past confessions about allegedly sexually molesting underage girls as a teenager, Jim Bob’s testimony, and Bobye Holt’s testimony will all be allowed in the trial.
Jill Duggar-Dillard was allegedly molested by Josh Duggar.
Jill, along with her sister and Jessa Duggar came forward in 2015, identifying themselves as two of Josh's vicims.
The reality star has, publicly, been more critical of the media for "revictimizing" her by digging up the story than she has been of her brother.
However, in the years since the leaked reports about the alleged sexual abuse, Jill appears to have distanced herself from the family.
Jill Duggar-Dillard doesn't appear to be close with Josh Duggar.
Jill doesn’t have the best relationship with her family — in fact, she largely doesn’t associate with them anymore and had a falling out with them that resulted in her isolation from the rest of her siblings.
Jill and Derick Dillard started to deviate from the Duggar mold and did things that Jim Bob didn’t like — Dillard went to law school and didn’t continue with ministry work, Jill started wearing things like shorts and pants, and they enrolled their children in public schools which was something that the Duggars never did.
Eventually, Jim Bob reportedly forbid her from seeing her family unless there was tight supervision, even requiring her to ask permission to come over and help her sister during labor, despite her sister specifically asking for her to be there.
Jed Duggar's relationship with Josh Duggar is unclear.
While Jed doesn’t have a particularly strained relationship with his family, he does have a political background that might lead him to care about his family’s image which would be tarnished if Josh is forgiven.
Like the rest of his family, he was brought up to be very conservative and included religion as part of his agenda for his campaign to become a U.S. Representative.
On his Instagram, he’s posted pictures with his brothers in the past, but none of them include Josh in them.
Josh has pleaded not guilty to two counts of child pornography during the trial that is expected to last five or six days.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.