Inside The Shocking Charge Against Jana Duggar

It has been a rough week for the Duggar family. Josh Duggar was found guilty on two counts of receiving and possessing child pornography on December 9. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar released a statement on their eldest son's conviction. "This entire ordeal has been very grievous," they said. "In the days ahead, we will do all we can to surround our daughter-in-law Anna and their children with love and support." They continued, "As parents, we will never stop praying for Joshua, and loving him, as we do all of our children."

Not everyone in the Duggar family is supporting Josh, though. Josh's cousin Amy Duggar King had long been critical of Josh and tweeted in celebration of his guilty verdict. "May the children grow up with real Godly men as father figures who will guide and protect them," she wrote. "May the people who were once in disbelief have their eyes opened for the first time." In another tweet, she wrote, "Thank you Jesus. Justice has been served."

But it turns out Josh is not the only Duggar in trouble with the law. Now his sister Jana Duggar is facing a charge of her own.

Jana Duggar, the eldest daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, has been charged in Arkansas with endangering the welfare of a minor, In Touch Weekly reported on December 10. The outlet claims that the charge could either be classified as a Class D felony or a Class A misdemeanor depending on the degree; Jana has been charged with a misdemeanor. A "family insider" told blogger Without a Crystal Ball that Jana pleaded not guilty and will go to court in January 2022. The alleged incident occurred in September.

It's still unclear exactly what Jana allegedly did to warrant this charge. Per Arkansas legal code, endangering the welfare of a minor in the second degree constitutes "creating a substantial risk of serious harm to the physical or mental welfare of another person known by the person to be a minor," per legal website Justia. The code elaborates that "serious harm" refers to physical or mental injury that causes "protracted disfigurement," "protracted impairment of physical or mental health," or "loss or protracted impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ." Of course, this does not mean Jana did anything to explicitly cause harm, but that she created an increased risk of it potentially happening (think not buckling a child's car seatbelt).

As of this writing, Jana — nor anyone in the Duggar family — has addressed the charge.

Some Duggar watchers call Jana Duggar "Cinderella Duggar" because they believe she is forced to watch her younger siblings. The oldest Duggar daughter is currently 31, single, and still lives in the family home. Jana hasn't found her true love yet, but it's harder to find your soulmate when you have to have a chaperone (and you're over 30). In January, a source told The Sun that Jana was desperate to move out from the family home. The Duggar insider told The Sun, "She's really ready to move out and live her own life ... she can't be alone with a man, it's the way it's always been in the family, so it makes it harder for her."

As far as watching the kids, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar's child-rearing approach follows the controversial Pearl Method. In Touch Weekly reported on Michael and Debi Pearl's child-rearing book, "To Train Up a Child," which recommends using corporal punishment to make children "obedient." A Reddit user reminded fans that Jana was known in the Duggar family for laying down the law regarding discipline. The Redditor wrote, "There was an episode where Joy was teaching the little kids a song. And they weren't behaving. And she told them, 'do you want me to send you to Jana.' Lord knows what that meant."

The September incident Jana Duggar is going to court for has been deemed a misdemeanor charge. Still, there is no information on what the oldest Duggar daughter did to warrant the charge. However, one Reddit user offered fans information that might provide possible context regarding the charge against Jana. One Redditor wrote, "So someone on Facebook said she was watching the kids, fell asleep, and some kids got out. I don't know what that means or the accuracy but this person seems closely involved with the family and said she'd known about it for a while and most people knew about it. Take it with a grain of salt of course but that's one theory that's out there."

According to one criminal defense website, an adult that cares for a child has a legal responsibility to ensure the child is free from "unreasonably dangerous situations." According to the criminal defense resource, "People convicted of a misdemeanor child endangerment charge typically face up to one year in jail." The criminal defense website cites general state laws about child endangerment but does not specify the laws of Arkansas.

Sources close to the reality TV family noted that the Duggars are not as close as they used to be because of Josh Duggar's trial. After Josh's guilty verdict and the latest news about Jana, this trend will likely continue.