Photo: Washington County Sheriff’s Office
But his attorneys want them suppressed.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Sep 15, 2021
Lawyers in Josh Duggar's child pornography case are attempting to suppress photos that could link Duggar to incriminating evidence found on his computer.
Duggar, 33, was arrested in April and was charged with possessing and receiving child pornography.
Now, Duggar’s attorneys are trying to dismiss photos that reveal his hand scars that were taken in police custody.
Scars on Josh Duggar's hands allegedly match images on his computer.
Court documents did not detail what these images were or how they relate to the case.
Upon his arrest, photographs were reportedly taken of Duggar's hands and used to make the connection.
Duggar's lawyers claim the images of his hands were unauthorized.
Duggar’s attorneys claim that photos that were taken of him during his custody were taken without their client’s permission.
They claimed authorities “did not have a warrant which authorized the taking of the photographs” and that they were taken without his lawyer present.
The court filings provided the three images in question, taken at a higher angle while Duggar has his hands stretched out over his feet, revealing his visible hand scars.
The filing argues that law enforcement “must obtain a warrant which permits photographing a defendant’s body parts (other than a simple booking photograph) and to permit requiring a defendant to pose in a particular manner for these types of photographs."
His attorneys are saying that it’s “egregious” that Duggar’s body parts were “manipulated and he was required to pose for the photographs.”
They went further, calling the photographs an “intrusion on [his] personal rights,” but that’s not what the police are saying.
Law enforcement have insisted photos of Duggar's hands are valid evidence.
Law enforcement officials are reportedly fighting back by demanding that the judge deny the request to dismiss the images, claiming that Duggar “expressly consented to having the photographs taken.”
“The photographs document a scar on the defendant’s hand, which is plainly visible,” the papers continued.
“Law enforcement observed the same scar in images recovered from the defendant’s electronic devices seized pursuant to a search warrant in this case.”
The law enforcement documents continue to allege that the photographing of his hands “did not constitute an unreasonable or warrantless search of the defendant” and that “his hands were in plain view and clearly visible.”
Josh Duggar reportedly refused a plea deal prior to his arrest.
Back in August, Duggar’s team filed a motion to dismiss the case because the investigation allegedly ”proceeded without lawful authority.”
They claimed that, at the time, the head of the Department of Homeland Security was occupied by two people “without lawful authority.”
Duggar’s team also included in the court filings that law enforcement failed to preserve evidence that would prove his innocence, including interviews and phone findings from three witnesses — prosecutors asked the court to deny the request.
The Sun obtained court papers that revealed Duggar’s team had received a plea deal in March, which was subsequently denied before his arrest weeks later.
In the email to Josh’s attorney, the prosecutor attached the government's “proposed documents," including the “Plea Agreement” and "Waiver of Indictment" — meaning he could have proceeded directly to a plea.
The prosecutor regarded the plea deal as “a statement of facts,” showing that they had conclusive evidence that places Duggar “at the car lot on the date/times the child pornography images were downloaded and distributed.”
Included in the email was a “recap” of their meeting at Homeland Security regarding the plea deal, as well as the images and video of child pornography allegedly found on his computer for Duggar’s team to review themselves.
Despite everything they had received, Duggar did not accept the plea.
Josh Duggar is due to stand trial in November.
Duggar requested that the court postpone his trial until February 2022, but the trial was instead set on November 30th.
The trial has the potential to last until December 3.
He has until October 18, 2021 to change his not guilty plea and until October 20, 2021 to submit a signed plea deal.
The former "19 Kids And Counting" star has a history of sexual abuse allegations against his own sisters dating back decades.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice and politics.