Kris Connor / Getty Josh duggar
Josh duggarThe family has filed two motions to dismiss their child pornography case, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.
In motions filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas on Friday, Duggar's attorneys argue that his case should be dismissed due to technicalities about who was running the Department of Homeland Security at the time of the investigation. They also say the researchers were unable to "preserve potentially exculpatory evidence."
Dew pleaded not guilty to charges of receiving and possessing child pornography in April. Prosecutors said the former reality TV personality had more than 200 images of children on your computer.
A virtual hearing was held in May, where Agent Gerald Faulkner provided a summary of DHS's forensic analysis of Duggar's devices, including an HP computer and a Macbook that included a backup of an iPhone.
Faulkner said multiple torrent files had been downloaded from a child abuse series that he described as "the top five worst of the worst" he has ever examined.
Agents conducted a search of Duggar's car dealership in Springdale, Arkansas, in November 2019, including his electronic devices. Agents also conducted interviews with people who had access to those devices and found no child pornography on any of their devices.
In one of the motions filed on Friday, Duggar's attorneys suggest that child pornography may have been transferred from one of those devices to Duggar's, but say investigators "did not retain any evidence" of the witness devices.
Duggar's attorneys argue that the evidence could have been "exculpatory."
RELATED VIDEO: Josh Duggar Had Over 200 Images Of 'Child Sexual Abuse Material' On His Computer: Authorities
"The problem is that [DHS' Homeland Security Investigations division] It may not have identified evidence of child pornography during the field examination of these devices, but was unable to preserve other potentially exculpatory evidence, "the motion says.
"For example, the devices may have contained content about whether these devices had any relevant internet search history, any evidence associated with the so-called 'dark web' and / or the Bit Torrent network, any metadata that could identify the whereabouts of the devices at various dates and times, and the list goes on, "the motion reads.
While Duggar's criminal trial was initially scheduled to begin in early July, it was delayed between June and November 30, after the defense said it needed more time to forensically analyze all the electronic devices involved in the investigation.
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Duggar was released from jail one week after his arrest, and despite the nature of his charges, he has been awarded "unlimited contact" with their children: Mackynzie Renรฉe, 11, Michael James, 10, Marcus Anthony, 8, Meredith Grace, 6, Mason Garrett, 3, and Maryella Hope, who will turn 2 in November, provided his wife Anna is present. He is not allowed to see other underage children, including his many nieces and nephews.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $ 250,000 in fines on each of the two counts of a possible total sentence of 40 years, according to an April press release from the United States Attorney's Office in the Western District of Arkansas.
RELATED: Josh Duggar child pornography trial delayed until November
The prosecution and defense teams have been engaged in an exchange of evidence. On August 9, the prosecution called the case "simple" and accused the defense of embarking on a "fishing expedition" in search of evidence that does not exist or is irrelevant to the case. That was in response to a motion filed by the defense alleging that the prosecution refused to provide evidence.
The child pornography case is far from Duggar's first brush with the law.
In May 2015, Duggar apologized for "wrongdoing" after a 2006 police report revealed that he had been investigated as a teenager for inappropriately touching five underage girls. Her sisters Jill, 29, and Jessa, 28, later stepped forward like two of the victims.
