Jana Duggar Settles Child Welfare Endangerment Case Outside of Court

Former 19 Kids and Counting star Jana Duggar previously received a citation in September. "One of the children wandered outside alone," she claimed.

By Mike Vulpo Jan 05, 2022 6:50 PMTags
Watch: Josh Duggar Found Guilty of Receiving & Possessing Child Pornography

Jana Duggar has reached a resolution in a highly publicized legal matter.

After being charged with endangering the welfare of a child, the former 19 Kids and Counting star has settled the case outside of the district court in Elm Springs, Arkansas. According to the court clerk, there is no appearance needed for Jana.

According to court documents obtained by E! News, Jana, 31, paid $880 after pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a minor in the third degree.

E! News has reached out to Jana's attorney for comment and has not heard back.

While news of Jana's charge first surfaced in early December, a court document confirmed the former reality star received a citation on Sept. 9. She previously pleaded not guilty to the charge and the document did not disclose the circumstances surrounding the charge.

Jana, however, chose to speak out on social media and share insight into her citation.

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The Complete Duggar Family Tree

"The raw facts: I was babysitting a few months ago when one of the children wandered outside alone," Jana shared in a Dec. 14 message on Instagram Stories. "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."

janamduggar / Instagraam

Jana's cousin, Amy Duggar King, also took to Instagram Stories to defend her family member.

"I will call out what is right and I will call out what is wrong," she wrote in a Dec. 11 post on social media. "This couldn't have been intentional."

She added, "I bet you were exhausted, stressed and just emotionally worn out. Watching multiple kids is hard! Bc there's so many of them and you only have two eyes!! It's a very sad situation going on and my heart goes out to @janamduggar love you."

News of Jana's legal drama first surfaced just a day after her older brother, Josh Duggar, was found guilty of one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography in an Arkansas court. His attorneys told E! News they plan to seek an appeal.

He faces up to 20 years in prison for each count and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.

After the verdict, Josh's parents Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar spoke out in a statement to E! News.

"This entire ordeal has been very grievous. Today, God's grace, through the love and prayers of so many, has sustained us. Our hearts and prayers are with anyone who has ever been harmed through CSAM [Child Sexual Abuse Material]," they said. "As parents, we will never stop praying for Joshua, and loving him, as we do all of our children."

Fox News was first to report Jana's legal update. 

 

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