Josh Duggar misses chance to take plea deal as he faces 20 years behind bars in child pornography case

JOSH Duggar has passed the deadline to accept a plea deal before trial in his child pornography case, as he faces 20 years behind bars. 

Josh, 33, was arrested and charged with possessing and receiving child pornography in April 2021. 

According to the Pretrial Scheduling Order, Josh had until October 18 to accept a plea agreement and change his non guilty plea. 

The Sun can exclusively reveal no change of plea has been filed as of October 19. 

If Josh files a change of plea after October 18, it will be considered an “open plea,” meaning he will plead guilty without the benefit of a plea agreement.

The court, however, could grant an exception if they are able to show good cause up to 10 days before trial. 

This isn't the first time Josh has refused to accept a plea deal, as The Sun previously reported he was , weeks before the arrest, according to court papers. 

Josh’s decision to not change his plea comes after another blow to his case. 

Jim Bob and Michelle’s oldest son requested a Franks Hearing, where he planned to criticize “the methods used by law enforcement to obtain the search warrant for his business and contends there was no probable cause to support the issuance of the warrant.”

He also filed a Motion to Suppress Evidence, claiming the court should exclude from trial the evidence obtained from his “seized electronic devices because it took investigators too long to perform their forensic analysis.”