Jana Duggar’s Child Endangerment Charge: Major Development Made

Jana Duggar’s child endangerment case has been settled outside of court ahead of her previously-scheduled Jan. 10 court date, according to multiple reports. The eldest 19 Kids and Counting daughter, 31, was previously cited for the misdemeanor on Sept. in Arkansas, but news of the charge broke publicly in December, one day after her brother, Josh Duggar, was found guilty of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials.

Jana had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge, and while the details of her settlement have yet to be made public, the TLC personality will no longer appear in court next week. Jana previously took to Instagram last month to explain what had happened was a simple “accident” while she was babysitting. “I’m only sharing this because the media has been having a field day with it all,” the former Counting On star wrote on her Story. “I prefer a more private life, but I know my last name means that everything I do is open to the public criticism and interest, especially during this time.”

Jana continued, “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. 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.”

The Duggar daughter concluded by thanking the law enforcement officials who took care of the situation, noting that she was “just upset at [herself]” for letting it happen, despite everything ending “safely” for everyone. Jana’s younger sister, Jessa Duggar Seewald, also came to her defense, calling it “an innocent mistake” in a statement of her own posted to Instagram Stories. 

“She was babysitting and one of the kids slipped out the door unnoticed, but it ended safely,” Jessa wrote. “Could’ve happened to anyone.” She continued to blame “current family circumstances” for the hyper-focus on her family’s legal status at this moment, defending her sister as “one of the most amazing women” she knows. “Do me a favor — give the girl a break, and all you perfect humans go back to living your lives,” the reality personality added.