Josh Duggar Child Porn Case Is 'Straight-Forward,' Prosecutors Say Amid Evidence Dispute

The prosecutors in Josh Duggar's child pornography case and the reality star's legal team are currently engaged in a dispute over the evidence ahead of his trial this fall, a report says.

The "19 Kids and Counting" alum, 33, was arrested in April and charged with one count each of receipt and possession of child pornography for allegedly downloading computer files depicting child sex abuse in May 2019. Duggar has pleaded not guilty to both charges in court and awaits his November trial.

In new court documents obtained by People, the prosecution in his case provided the defense in June with a screenshot showing that aside from Arkansas police detective Amber Kalmer, two other law enforcement officers had downloaded the child sex abuse material allegedly tied to Duggar. Kalmer had initially flagged the files and allegedly traced them to Duggar's IP address on a computer at the dealership he worked for at the time.

Duggar's defense team then requested that the government hand them all discoveries relating to the screenshot, all reports from Kalmer and the two other officers and more information.

The government provided some relevant log files but noted that the materials requested relating to the two other officers were "extraneous" to Duggar's case and therefore not discoverable.

According to them, the screenshot was only provided in the first place "to simply make the defense aware that other officers not involved with this prosecution had downloaded [child sex abuse material] from the target IP."

On July 26, the defense filed an official motion accusing prosecutors of withholding evidence that "Duggar is legally and constitutionally entitled to."

The prosecution fired back by calling Duggar's case "straight-forward" in the response they filed on Aug. 9. The prosecutors also accused the defense of embarking on a "fishing expedition" for evidence that is not relevant to the case or does not exist.

"[The defendant's] motion represents nothing more than a request to embark on an impermissible fishing expedition for evidence that is either nonexistent, immaterial to his defense, or already produced," the prosecutors' filing read, as per People. "Accordingly, the defendant's motion should be denied."

A hearing was held on the matter Friday, based on a court docket seen by the outlet, but the ruling has not yet been entered.

Duggar's lawyers have not responded to requests for comment.

Duggar was arrested in April just days after he and his wife, Anna Duggar, announced that they were expecting their seventh child together. He was booked into jail in Washington County, Arkansas, but was released on May 6.

He is currently staying with third-party custodians, Lacount and Maria Reber, close family friends of the Duggars, as he awaits his trial on Nov. 30.

Duggar's trial was originally scheduled for July 6, but the defendant motioned for an extension of the case. If convicted on both counts, he could serve up to 40 years in prison and be fined up to $500,000.