Josh Duggar Transferred to 5th Prison in 5 Years As He Continues to Fight Child Pornography Conviction

Former reality star Josh Duggar was moved to his fifth prison in five years following his 2021 child pornography conviction.

Court documents obtained by Us Weekly confirm that Duggar, 38, is now imprisoned at FCI Elkton in Lisbon, Ohio. A Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) spokesperson previously confirmed to KNWA TV that Duggar was transferred from temporary accommodations at FTC Oklahoma City to FCI Elkton on Wednesday, July 8.

The BOP describes FCI Elkton as a “low security federal correctional institution with an adjacent low security satellite prison,” which is currently holding just over 2,000 inmates between its two campuses.

Us Weekly has reached out to representatives for the BOP and the Duggar family for comment.

Duggar was initially housed at the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas following his 2021 arrest. He was convicted of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material in December 2021 and ordered to serve 12 years behind bars. (Duggar has maintained his innocence and suggested there were “errors in the admission of forensic evidence” at his trial.)

He served a majority of his 151-month prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Seagoville, Texas, before being moved to FMC in Fort Worth earlier this year. No reason was publicly announced for his transfer between the two Texas prisons.

Prior to his most recent move to FCI Elkton, he spent a few months at Federal Transfer Center (FTC) in Oklahoma City.

The former 19 Kids and Counting star has continued to appeal his conviction despite the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upholding the trial ruling in October 2023. In June 2024, the Supreme Court declined to review Duggar’s appeal to have his criminal conviction overturned.

Prior to his child pornography case, Duggar released a public statement in 2015 over accusations in a police report that he molested five girls, four of which were his sisters, when he was a teenager.

“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret,” he said in a statement in May 2015. “I hurt others, including my family and close friends. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.”

Josh shares seven children with his wife Anna Duggar. In August 2015, Josh publicly apologized when he was named in the Ashley Madison leak, which included information tying him to the website created to help people have affairs.

“I have been the biggest hypocrite ever,” the conservative political activist wrote on the Duggar Family website at the time. “While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife. I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him.”

Us confirmed in May that Anna, 37, helped Josh with his 2025 motion to vacate his sentence. A judge ruled in June that Josh filed the motion late, so it was unable to be reviewed.

If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).