19 Kids and Counting star Josh Duggar's appeal rejected by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is upholding Josh Duggar's 12-year prison sentence for possessing child pornography.

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal made by Josh Duggar, a former reality TV star, who was convicted of possessing child pornography in 2021 and sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2022. The decision came Monday morning, according to the Associated Press.

Duggar's appeal was centered on the argument that his attorneys should have been permitted to include details about a prior sex-offense conviction against a former employee of Duggar's car dealership. The employee had used the computer that was seized in the investigation, but was not allowed to testify about the prior conviction during the trial.

Duggar was first arrested by federal authorities in Little Rock, Arkansas in April 2021. During his trial, a Justice Department representative testified that pornographic images of sexual abuse against children, as young as 12, had been downloaded onto Duggar's work computer the year before.

Duggar's case has been highly publicized due to his family's reality TV show "19 Kids and Counting," which was canceled in 2015 after allegations emerged that Duggar had sexually molested teenage girls, including four of his own sisters and a babysitter. Duggar's parents said he admitted his actions and sought counseling at the time, but charges were not pressed.

After his release from prison, Duggar will spend 20 years under supervision.