Jana Duggar Reveals Why She Was Charged With Child Endangerment
In 2008, the Duggar family was introduced to the world with the debut of TLC's "17 Kids and Counting," a name that was updated two more times as they added more kids, until "19 Kids and Counting" was canceled in 2015 (via Us Weekly). The show revolved around the inevitable hijinks and hecticness of such a large family, and after the show's cancellation, there was a spinoff called "Jill and Jessa: Counting On," and then just named "Counting On," which aired for 11 seasons and followed the lives of the adult Duggar children.
"19 and Counting" was canceled when it was revealed that the eldest of the Duggar children, Josh, had allegedly inappropriately touched young girls, including some of his sisters (via ABC News). He has since been arrested for child pornography, and on December 9, Josh Duggar was convicted of one count of receiving and one count of possessing child pornography. He faces up to a $500,000 fine and 20 years in prison (via NBC News).
Just a day after Josh was convicted, more legal trouble for the Duggar family came to light. According to People, Jana Duggar was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor.
Jana Duggar says charges were based on an accident while babysitting
Posting on her Instagram, Jana Duggar offered her side of the story. She claims she was babysitting children — she doesn't say who — a few months ago, and one of the kids went outside alone (via Us Weekly).
"A passerby who saw the child called the police," Duggar said. "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. It was a case of a child slipping out of the house when you turn your back for a moment."
Duggar continued, "It all happened so quickly and was scary. I am grateful for law enforcement and those who protect and serve our community. I was certainly never arrested like some may have implied. In the end I was just upset at myself that it happened at all, but so thankful it all ended safely and that's truly what mattered the most to me."
The 31-year-old pleaded not guilty, and a trial is scheduled for January 10 (via NBC News).