Josh Duggar’s Prison Release Date Revealed: Why He Won’t End Up Serving His Full 12.5-Year Sentence

Josh Duggar was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison after being arrested and charged with one count of possessing and one count of receiving child pornography. While he pleaded not guilty, he was later convicted of both counts in December 2021, with the possession conviction eventually being dismissed. After being sentenced in May 2022, he is serving his punishment at the Federal Correctional Facility (FCI) Seagoville in Texas until his release. Keep reading to find out when Josh Duggar gets out of jail

When Does Josh Duggar Get Out of Jail?

Despite being ordered to spend 12.5 years behind bars, his release date was scheduled for August 12, 2032, according to the Bureau of Prisons, meaning he’ll spend a little more than 10 years in prison at FCI Seagoville in Texas, In Touch exclusively learned in July 2022. 

The former reality star was transferred to FCI Seagoville near Dallas on June 24, 2022, to begin serving his sentence for one count of receiving child pornography. He had been housed at the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas since a jury returned with a guilty verdict in his child pornography trial on December 9, 2021. The same jury found Josh guilty of one count of possessing child pornography, which a judge later dropped at his May 25, 2022, sentencing. 

The father of seven was facing up to 20 years in prison, which is what prosecutors asked for due to his “prior sexual exploitation of multiple minors” and “the extraordinary efforts Duggar took to obtain and view child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), the nature of the CSAM he obtained and viewed, his efforts to conceal his criminal conduct and his refusal to take accountability for or acknowledge any of his criminal conduct.”

Josh’s defense team argued for a more lenient sentence, citing his never being charged or convicted of a past crime, and that he receive a sentence that is “sufficient, but not greater than necessary.” 

Josh’s release date was extended to October 1, 2032, after he was moved to the facility’s Special Housing Unit (SHU) for allegedly possessing a cell phone while serving his sentence in February 2023. The conditions of FCI Seagoville’s solitary confinement area are notoriously “bad,” per multiple reports. 

Two months later, his release date was extended again to October 10, 2023, according to online records from Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) Seagoville in Texas viewed by In Touch.

Why Isn’t Josh Duggar Serving His Full Sentence?

It is unclear why Josh isn’t serving the full 12.5-year sentence that Judge Timothy Brooks handed down, but it could involve his time already served behind bars in Arkansas. Also, Federal prisoners must serve 85 percent of their sentence, which could also explain why he is getting out earlier than expected.

It will still be a long 10 years in prison for Josh. He’s not allowed conjugal visits with his wife, Anna Duggar, and the only physical contact permitted will be “handshakes, hugs, and kisses (in good taste)” at the start and end of any visit. Josh will only be allowed four hours worth of visits per month.

The former 19 Kids and Counting star was “terrified of prison” a source told In Touch exclusively as Josh began his sentence. “Even though Seagoville is low security and not known for violence against inmates, it does happen,” the insider added of the facility, which currently houses more than 1,700 inmates. “And he’s going in for what fellow criminals and inmates despise: a child sex offender.” The source added, “No one here feels sorry for him.”