Here's The Outcome Of Jana Duggar's Child Endangerment Charge

Of all the adult children in her gigantic family, Jana Duggar is the oldest one without children. But that doesn't mean she's not surrounded by kids — or immune to childcare mistakes. In late 2021, it came to light that Duggar was facing child endangerment charges as the result of an incident that allegedly happened on her watch. While she was babysitting at her family's home in Arkansas, a child reportedly left the property and was found by a passerby who called the police. Per Us Weekly, Duggar was charged on September 10, 2021, and a court date was set for January 2022. 

As news of the charge broke, Duggar issued a statement on her Instagram account (via Us Weekly). Making it clear that she was speaking out only to set the record straight, she denied rumors that she had been arrested over the "scary" incident. Duggar added that the local child protective services had visited the house afterward and found no cause for concern. "In the end I was just upset at myself that it had happened at all, but so thankful it all ended safely and that's truly what mattered the most to me," she wrote.

This latest chapter in the life of the "19 Kids & Counting" family couldn't have been more ill-timed, coming right after the conviction of Josh Duggar on child pornography charges. But unlike her older brother, who is likely to face decades of prison time, Jana is paying a much smaller price.

Perhaps not wanting to put her famous family through the publicity of another court case, Jana Duggar opted to settle out of court just days before she was scheduled to go to trial. According to People, she entered a guilty plea and was ordered to pay an $880 fine. Meanwhile, Without a Crystal Ball obtained a copy of the court records, which indicate that Duggar was ordered to pay the fine by December 31, 2021.

Prior to the out-of-court settlement, several members of her family spoke out publicly in support of Jana, including her cousin Amy Duggar King and her younger sister Jessa Duggar Seewald.

Speaking on Instagram, Jessa wrote, "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. 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" (via People).