Derick Dillardis reacting to the news thatJosh Duggarwasfound guiltyThursday on two charges of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
Outside of the courthouse after the verdict was served, Derick told PEOPLE why he and wifeJill (Duggar) Dillard, Josh’s younger sister, had attended some parts of the trial. (Jill, 30, appeared at Wednesday’s proceeding but was not present for the verdict on Thursday.)
“We just wanted to, among other things, see the facts for ourselves,” he said, adding, “America is the best country to get justice.”
Derick, 32, then said he was heading home to spend time with Jill in the wake of the news, but would be releasing a formal statement at a later time.
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TheCounting Onalum also spoke out about Josh’s trial after the jury began deliberating on Wednesday, writing on Twitter that he was “praying for justice this morning.”
derick dillard/ instagram; Patsy Lynch/Shutterstock
The tweet was met with support from Jill’s cousin,Amy Duggar King, whorespondedto him: “Praying as well. Lord may justice be served ice cold.” King alsotweeted, “JUSTICE FOR THE CHILDREN,” that same day.
Josh, 33, wasarrestedin April and laterpleaded not guiltyto the charges of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
The former reality star, who previously faced achild molestation scandalrelated to his conduct as a teenager, was accused ofdownloading filesdepicting child sexual abuse on May 14, 15 and 16 of 2019 on thecomputer at his then-workplace, a used car lot in Arkansas.
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During his 7-day trial, the prosecution argued that Josh was the only one who could have committed the alleged crimes on the computer in question, while the defense tried to suggest that other people could have been responsible.
Jill and Derick Dillard.Jinger Duggar/Instagram
His sentencing is expected in four months but a date hasn’t been scheduled pending a pre-sentence investigation.
Along with Jill and Derick, several otherof Josh’s family members appeared in courtthroughout the trial, including his wifeAnna, dadJim Boband siblingsJustin,JessaandJoy-Anna. Joy-Anna’s husband Austin Forsyth has also attended.
Jill and Derick, who have been open in the past aboutdistancing themselvesfrom the Duggar family, previously issued a brief statement on the case when Josh was first arrested earlier this year. “It is very sad,” they told PEOPLE at the time.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
