Josh Duggar's Child Porn Case: Prosecution and Defense Fight Over Photos of His Hands — Learn Why

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Josh Duggar's defense team is embroiled in yet another back-and-forth with prosecutors over the evidence in his ongoing child pornography case.

In a motion filed in August, Duggar, 33, asks the court to suppress photographs that were taken of his hands in jail after he was arrested on charges of receiving and possessing child sex abuse material in April. (He later pleaded not guilty and was released pending his Nov. 30 trial.)

The motion claims that the taking of the photos, which show a scar on one of Duggar's hands, were a violation of his Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights and says that law enforcement officials should have obtained a warrant before taking them.

"What is particularly egregious about [Homeland Security's] conduct in this capacity is that Duggar's body parts were manipulated and he was required to pose for the photographs," the motion states. "By any measure, this constitutes a search and an 'intrusion on [his] personal rights'—all without his counsel present—in violation of his Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights."

Lawyers for Duggar did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

josh duggar
josh duggar

Danny Johnston/AP/Shutterstock Josh Duggar

RELATED: Duggars Splinter amid Josh's Legal Drama: Family Isn't 'as Close as They Once Were,' Says Source

In their response, filed on Sept. 10, the prosecution writes that "the defendant is incorrect on all counts" regarding the alleged rights violations and asks the court to deny the motion.

The document claims that the scar on Duggar's hand links him to "images recovered from [his] electronic devices" that were seized while law enforcement was previously carrying out a search warrant in the case.

It goes on to dispute each of the points in the defense's motion, noting that the photographs do not "constitute an unreasonable or warrantless search of the defendant" because his hands were "in plain view and clearly visible."

Prosecutors add that Duggar also "voluntarily consented" to having the photos taken.

The response also says that "the display of a defendant's physical characteristics," such as a photograph, do not fall under the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. As for the alleged Sixth Amendment violation — Duggar's right to counsel — prosecutors say that that right only applies to "critical stages of criminal proceedings," under which taking photographs does not fall.

josh duggar
josh duggar

Kris Connor/Getty Josh Duggar

RELATED: Josh Duggar Child Porn Case Is 'Straight-Forward,' Prosecution Says amid Dispute Over Evidence

A court hearing is set for Oct. 4 to settle the matter brought up in the defense's motion, which is the latest of many filed by Duggar's team regarding evidence in the case.

In August, his attorneys argued that his case should be dismissed because of technicalities over who was running the Department of Homeland Security at the time of their investigation. They also say investigators failed to "preserve potentially exculpatory evidence."

And earlier that month, the prosecution accused the defense of embarking on a "fishing expedition" for evidence that does not exist or is irrelevant to the case. That was in response to a motion filed by the defense claiming the prosecution was refusing to turn over evidence.

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Duggar, who prosecutors believe had more than 200 images of children on his computer, is no stranger to controversy. In 2015, a 2006 police report that surfaced indicated he was investigated for molesting five underage girls, including sisters Jill (Duggar) Dillard and Jessa (Duggar) Seewald. He said at the time that he was "extremely sorry" for the "wrongdoing."

Amid his current legal woes, TLC canceled the Duggar family's reality series, Counting On. In their statement, the network said it "feels it is important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately."

The show premiered on TLC in 2015 and served as a spinoff series to 19 Kids and Counting, which ran from 2008 to 2015. The spinoff was created amid the previous molestation controversy surrounding Duggar.

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.