FAYETTEVILLE -- U.S. attorneys don't oppose a short delay for the child pornography trial of Joshua Duggar, but they see no reason to wait until next year, according to a response filed in federal court Monday.
Duggar's lawyers are asking that his trial be delayed until next year to allow more time to prepare.
Duggar, 33, of Springdale is charged with two counts involving receiving and possessing child pornography. His trial is set for July 6 before U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks in federal court in Fayetteville.
The motion to continue asks that the case be reset for sometime after February.
Duggar's lawyers argue in their motion that they need more time to allow their computer forensics expert to adequately examine the computers and a cellphone that federal agents seized from Duggar. Duggar is represented by Travis Story and Justin Gelfand.
Dustin Roberts, assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, said in a response that three months would be a reasonable amount of time to delay the trial, and that there's no legally or factually valid reason to continue the case until February.
Brooks had not ruled on the motion to continue as of Tuesday afternoon.
Duggar, best known for being a part of his family's cable television reality show, is accused of using the internet in May 2019 to download and possess the material, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children younger than 12, according to court documents.
A federal magistrate in May allowed Duggar to be released to home detention while awaiting trial at the residence of Lacount and Maria Reber, friends of the Duggar family. The magistrate issued a list of conditions, including electronic monitoring and travel restrictions. She forbade Duggar from accessing the Internet or any kind of pornography.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines of up to $250,000 on each count.