- Former reality TV star Josh Duggar was convicted of possession of child pornography on Thursday.
- A forensic investigator called some of the content “the most offensive” he had ever seen.
- Jinger Vuolo, Josh’s younger sister, called his actions a “terrible evil” in an Instagram statement.
Jinger Vuolo was candid in a statement about her brother, Josh Duggar, 33, who was recently convicted of possession of child pornography by a federal jury in Arkansas.
On Friday, Vuolo – neé Duggar – shared a lengthy post on his Instagram account regarding his initial thoughts on the verdict, calling Josh’s behavior a “dishonor.”
“We are saddened for the victims of horrific child abuse. We are also saddened for Josh’s family, his wife and their precious children,” Vuolo, 27, wrote. “We are saddened by the dishonor this has brought on the name of Christ. Josh claims to be a Christian.”
Vuolo, Duggar’s sixth oldest son and star of TLC’s “19 Children and Counting”, wrote: “When a professed follower of Jesus is exposed as a hypocrite, the response of many will be to challenge the integrity of Jesus himself.” Vuolo also shared that he fears for his brother’s soul.
“Yet amid our sadness, there is gratitude. We are thankful that God is a God of justice who cares for the innocent and the defenseless. And, of all the people in this world, He especially loves children, who they are among the most vulnerable, “Vuolo wrote. “This reality makes the existence of sex trafficking and child abuse one of the most horrible evils imaginable. It is an evil that God hates.”
Vuolo said she was “grateful to God for exposing Josh’s actions and to a legal system committed to protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty in this case.”
“We are praying for more justice, vindication, protection and healing for all those who have been wronged,” concluded Vuolo.
Insider’s Michelle Mark and Ashley Collman reported that Duggar was convicted Thursday and now faces up to 20 years in prison after being arrested in April 2021. Duggar initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of receiving and possessing child pornography.
Members of the Duggar family appear on “Good Morning America” in 2014.
D Dipasupil / Getty Images for more
According to Insider, prosecutors accused Duggar of downloading and
transmission
known material of child sexual abuse in a
desktop
at the Duggar used car dealership in May 2019. A federal agent testified that some of the footage involved children under the age of 12, including an infant.
Josh’s defense team argued that someone else had remotely accessed the computer and downloaded the material in a “hit and run” hacking scheme.
During the trial, a child abuse scandal that emerged years earlier resurfaced. A family friend who testified as a witness said she recalled that Duggar once confessed to stroking four of his sisters over and under their clothing.
The Duggar family was hit by another scandal on Friday when it was revealed that Jana Duggar, the second oldest daughter, was charged with endangering a minor.