Jana Duggar pleads guilty to child endangerment charges after star called incident ‘a scary accident’
JANA Duggar pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges after she defender herself, calling the incident "a scary accident."
The Counting On alum settled the case by pleading guilty to a third-degree count of endangering the welfare of a minor in Arkansas, according to court documents obtained by .
Jana entered the plea on December 15, resulting in fines and fees totaling nearly $900.
This includes a $100 fee to go towards Child Victim Crime.
The 31-year-old was charged back in September of 2021 with endangering the welfare of a child.
The TV personality posted bail at $430 at the time.
A clerk previously confirmed to The Sun that Jana's next court date would be on January 10, 2022, before the latest news of her guilty plea.
was the first to report the news of her charge.
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'IT WAS AN ACCIDENT'
On Tuesday, December 14, 2021, Jana took to Instagram to share her thoughts on the situation regarding her charges.
"I prefer a more private life, but I know my last name means that everything we do is open to public criticism and interest, especially during this time."
She claimed: "The raw facts: I was babysitting a few months ago when one of the children wandered outside alone.
"A passerby who saw the child called the police.
"This resulted in a written citation, as well as a follow-up with child welfare who concluded that it was an accident and the child was unharmed.”
The oldest Duggar sibling concluded: "They recognized it was a case of a child slipping out of the house when you turn your back for a moment.
"It all happened so quickly and was scary."
DEFENDING JANA
Jana's sister Jessa also took to social media to claim that the media was "sensationalizing" the incident.
"Getting messages about headlines about Jana. Bottom line - it was an innocent mistake.
"She was babysitting and one of the kids slipped out the door unnoticed, but it ended safely."
Jessa's Instagram post went on: "Could've happened to anyone. The media is sensationalizing this because of other current family circumstances and it makes me so mad."
Jana's cousin Amy King also came to the star's defense on social media saying: "watching multiple kids is hard."
The 35-year-old has been nothing but open with her thoughts as her famous family continues to be surrounded by controversy.
Amy took to her Instagram Story on Saturday to defend Jana following the charge, writing: “I will call out what is right and I will call out what is wrong. This couldn’t have been intentional. Thank God the child was ok and found!
“I bet you were exhausted, stressed, and just emotionally worn out.
“Watching multiple kids is hard! Because there are so many of them and you only have two eyes!!”
The post concluded: “It’s a very sad situation going on and my heart goes out to @janamduggar love you.”
JOSH'S SENTENCING
Just one day prior to news of her charges, her brother Josh, 33, was found guilty of child pornography charges and taken into custody.
The son of father Jim Bob, 56, and mother Michelle, 55, had been arrested and charged back in April 2021 with receiving and possession of child pornography.
After the jury reached its verdict, the disgraced reality star could face up to 20 years behind bars on each guilty count.
He is expected to be sentenced in about four months.
Josh's lawyers have planned on appealing the case.
SISTER'S LAWSUIT
Josh’s younger sisters Jill, 30, and Jessa, 29, came forward as two of the alleged victims in an interview with Megyn Kelly, where they insisted they had forgiven Josh, who was never charged, for his sins.
In May 2017, Jill and Jessa sued the City of Springdale, police department employees and other Defendants for invasion of privacy and more, claiming releasing the records caused ";extreme mental anguish and emotional distress.”
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Sisters Jinger, 27, and Joy-Anna, 24, are also suing, though they have not publicly come forward as victims of the alleged molestation.
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