Jana Duggar has reached a conclusion in her child endangerment case.
According to documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight from the Chief Court Clerk at Arkansas’ Elm Springs District Court, the eldest 19 Kids and Counting daughter settled her highly-publicized legal matter outside of court last month. She pleaded guilty to the charges on December 15, 2021. As a result, the court ordered that Jana pay a fine of $880 by no later than December 31, 2021. Furthermore, she will also no longer have to appear in court, which was originally scheduled for January 10, due to the case being settled.
Related: Jana Duggar’s Cousin Defends Her Amid New Charges Of Endangering The Welfare Of A Minor
As you know, the 31-year-old was charged with a misdemeanor on September 9 and pleaded not guilty at the time. However, her legal battle only came to light last month, just one day after her brother Josh Duggar was found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography. Very few details were known about the situation when news of the charge broke.
But she later hopped on Instagram Story to set the record straight about what happened. The reality star stated that the “accident” occurred while she was babysitting, when one of the kids suddenly wandered off outside. Who she was watching still remains a mystery – but we assume it had to be one of the family members’ children. Jana wrote at the time:
“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.”
Several of the TLC personality’s family members have also taken to social media to defend and offer their support, including her sister Jessa Seewald:
“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. Could’ve happened to anyone. The media is sensationalizing this because of other current family circumstances, and it makes me so mad. She’s without question, one of the most amazing women I know, and I’d trust her with my kids any day of the week. Do me a favor — give the girl a break, and all you perfect humans go back to living your lives.”
Meanwhile, cousin Amy Duggar King completely shaded the parents of the kid in several social media posts, suggesting they may have put too much responsibility on Jana’s shoulder at the time:
“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!!”
Jana has yet to publicly comment on the resolution of her court battle — but considering how she likes to remain “private” with her life, we doubt she will. Thoughts on how things turned out? Let us know in the comments (below).
[Image via Jana Duggar/Instagram]
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