Jump to content
IGNORED

Jana Duggar 14: Child Endangerment Charges and Howlers Supporting Her Via Meme


HerNameIsBuffy

Recommended Posts

4 hours ago, Idlewild said:

But isn’t JD, Jana’s twin, an unpaid constable? They may loathe JB but it’s surprising they’d take it out on the sister of one of their own.

Just because JD is an unpaid constable doesn't meant that the other police like him or want him there.  The news coming out of that area seems to suggest that the Duggar's aren't particularly popular.  JD's authority could be viewed negatively by locals and other police officers.

  • Upvote 16
  • I Agree 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just putting this out there from personal experience… there are some small towns that direct police/deputies to write a citation for every thing they legally can. My only traffic ticket ever was for a burned out daytime running headlight. I was literally on my way to buy a replacement bulb. I asked the sheriff’s deputy if he was really going to write a ticket and he said it was required per local policy. Deputies didn’t have any discretion. I later learned the county brought in $1,000,000+ each year in court fees and fines. I ended up just paying the $10 fine and $300 court fee because I lived several hours away. They would have waived the fine but not the fee if I appeared in court with the receipt for the replacement bulb, but I would have needed to take a vacation day and spend way more than $10 on gas.

  • Upvote 17
  • WTF 3
  • I Agree 1
  • Thank You 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Idlewild said:

But isn’t JD, Jana’s twin, an unpaid constable? They may loathe JB but it’s surprising they’d take it out on the sister of one of their own.

If it’s like the unpaid constable position in my rural area, it’s really just name only without much responsibility or interaction with the cops.  Plus it’s possible that a state agency such as the troopers were the responding agency vs the local police department.

I think the speculation that it was an M kid and there’s an open CPS case, even just monitoring, which led to Jana being charged makes sense. When there’s an open CPS case, even small things can become very serious.

My oldest slipped out the door more than once on me as a toddler, despite our best efforts to prevent that.  It happens.

Edited by sableduck
  • Upvote 14
  • I Agree 1
  • Love 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Mama Mia said:

If it was my sister who was taking as much speculative heat in the news as my recently convicted pedo brother - I’d have one hell of an attitude issue as well. 
 

This. I saw an anon on DuggarData calling Jana worse than Josh (but DuggarData shut that down fast) and I can see why that would bother Jessa.

  • Upvote 20
  • WTF 1
  • I Agree 1
  • Love 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, SassyPants said:

It would have been ok if she would have ended with give the girl a break. The snark at the end is typical Jessa. I deduct points for that. The Duggars are not the least bit humble at all -

Also, how condescending to call a nearly 32 YO woman a girl.

I agree 100%. I was fine with it until the very end. Then I was like, oh no, here we go. Nobody is perfect, so many of us have admitted to having our own kiddos slip away. But I would say the normal reaction would be to be a bit traumatized by it and makes some changes so it hopefully doesn't happen again but the Duggars really think they are above all of us "normal" people. 

6 hours ago, Idlewild said:

If it was as Jessa says, it’s even more surprising that the police decided to charge - either she is minimising it or, as others have speculated, Jana was obnoxious to the police so they cut her no slack.

 

My first thought was it wasn't the first time the cops have been out there for a similar thing. First time a warning, maybe even a second time but after a while they are going to go ahead and charge. I've seen it so many times at work where the cops had responded to an address for a reason, gave a warning, left ended up back for the same reason, they usually go ahead and issue a charge the second time. 

  • Upvote 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It doesn’t help that Jessa has always been my least favorite Duggar daughter for almost a decade now. She always has an attitude of being better than others. I think she’s minimizing the hell out of the situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a neighbor that’s tired of the Duggar circus. I wouldn’t be surprised if this has happened before and they made sure the police knew it. There’s a reason why people don’t let “god decide” how many kids they have. Because shit like this happens. Humans aren’t meant to raise 19 children safely. I’m just surprised it’s taken this long for a charge. 

  • Upvote 24
  • I Agree 6
  • Love 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This grates on me as I am sure Jessa is privately very judgemental of say working moms who "abandon" their children to work outside the home, women who are not nearly as privileged as she is. Take the plank out of your own eye Jessa.  

  • Upvote 34
  • I Agree 1
  • Love 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Boats said:

Self-righteous agreed but I’m not sure we can criticise the snark without some hypocrisy!  

Why not?  We criticize each other's snark when we feel it's unwarranted or such.  

Huge pet peeve of mine when people respond to criticism with the you're not perfect either type of defense.  As if there is only perfect and horrible and there aren't a million acts in the spectrum .

Think she knows she's the one who just verified this rumor and took it into fact?  

  • Upvote 27
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m waiting til January 10th before I accept this explanation. Jessa  didn’t give any real details. Age of the child, how long they were gone, if they were found near cars or water or other danger, if Jana was sleeping, etc. it was a nothing statement purely to minimize. I’ve seen rumors it was a child under the age of 2 or that Jana lied and said she didn’t know the child which was the real reason she’s in trouble. I just don’t know. I need more facts. I get that kids can be fast but that doesn’t mean the adult in charge isn’t responsible.
 

I work with kids. If I lost a kid at work, I’m sure it would be an accident but I would still expect to be fired and charged with neglect, what makes Jana different? 

  • Upvote 27
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope the family isn’t giving the kid who went missing a hard time. First for running off and second (and much worse for the most-important Duggar brand) for bringing unwanted attention to the family 

  • Upvote 13
  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, IsmeWeatherwax said:

My tuppence worth of speculation is, could it have been Bella who wandered off? It would make sense regarding Si and Lauren deleting all of her pics off IG

I think this is likely.

The thing is, because of how the children and now grandchildren have been exploited for profit, it puts them at much higher risk of harm from outsiders. Someone could approach a child and use their name and say "hey A! your mom X told me to come get you from aunt Jana. Your cousins Y and Z are waiting back at my house. We're going to a party for your dad X."

It's scary. The experts tell you not to even have your kids name on their backpack at an airport because someone could use it to establish rapport. 

  • Upvote 20
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have three kids and my oldest is autistic. Part of that is he wanders and gets into everything, so I admit I'm pretty vigilant. Out of the three I would notice a missing one within 3-5 minutes if not sooner. So my question is how many children was she expected to keep track of at once that she didn't notice one was missing so long the police got involved?  Was it like all seven of Anna's plus more? 

But I'm also the parent. My house is set up where he can't just escape because if I didn't have locks in strategic places (like a chain lock up high on the front door and the fence is padlocked on both sides if he went out the back). If I didn't do that, I'm sure he would be up the street if he could get out without me noticing. 

Even with our gates everywhere, he produced wire cutters he found in our bedroom yesterday because I didn't lock up our room. I knew he was in there and told him to come back downstairs immediately and in the one or two minutes he was in there he grabbed those. I got them away from him before he could hurt himself or his siblings, but it's scary to think if he hadn't pulled them out of his pocket in front of me what could have happened when I wasn't looking.

Things do happen with kids all the time because they're all by default squirrelly and feral. However, I think it's impossible to make excuses for Jana without knowing the whole story and why she was actually charged. I think there undoubtably has to be some missing detail that would explain why it's been taken this far. I think it would be reprehensible if she was charged just because the officer disliked her family. I really hope that's not the case. 

  • Upvote 25
  • Love 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, neuroticcat said:

Honestly, this kind of minimizing reminds me of a Jim Bob statement. I think the details will prove worse than this. A child had to have been gone pretty long for someone else to notice and call for help. That’s not just, like, oops! I looked away and kid was gone. Yes, we’ve all made mistakes and talked about Houdini kid escapes on this thread . But how many of us have had the cops show up and file charges for it?

Also, how did a family who grew up in ATI cult that demands perfection of all children get all: “sheesh guys, there are no perfect parents” Um…enabling a pedophile, covering up molestation, neglecting a child such that protective services are called…do they think these are routine parenting experiences?

Jessa has always had the strongest claim to the "Smugette" title to me -- in a cult where her job was to grow up, get married, and have babies, she did have the confidence advantage among the eldest Duggar girls during teenage years because she mostly bypassed the awkward teenage phase.... or at least had a friggin' hairdresser/not in identical outfits by the time she got to it.  

I wouldn't be surprised if the neighbors DID freak out, especially since Jessa seems to be confirming at least that she was "babysitting", not necessarily that she was asleep or where/for which adults who couldn't be bothered that day to take care of their own kids.  It's a large property if it was at the TTH or adjacent houses, and there are ponds all over, not just roads.

I'm going to try to tag this right, because this is distressing, but it's part of why this is triggering for me and to my mind an indicator that it might be a good thing if it's implemented that Jana cannot be the sole caregiver for children under 12.

 

Spoiler

I have seen three of my friend's children lost to drowning -- two on the same day.  (We think the eldest hopped in after his brother fell in to an unfenced pond between where they lived and where their paternal grandparents lived, trying to save him.)

That case led to double manslaughter charges for the caregiver, who was on prescription painkillers -- even though she'd been on them for more than a decade and no dose escalation, she *was* getting older (their other grandma, and had taken care of the kids almost as much as their parents had, as the parents had always had to work).  She was the one who realized they were missing -- it wasn't like someone brought them back.  She wishes they would have.  By the time she did, it was too late.

The second case did not result in criminal charges, but a huge CPS case and the caregiver ending up on the maltreatment registry to keep them from being able to use her as a sitter again -- the main difference was that the children were further apart in age, and when the eldest saw the middle one in the pool, he knew to scream for the adult and could also direct 911 to the house.  The caregiver, also the maternal grandmother, was an LPN and had her heartbeat back before the ambulance got there.  Still, even with the assist from the older kid, it wasn't fast enough to save her brain. 

The reason CPS came down so hard was that grandma was awake, but watching the two older kids via soundless video and the parents knew that was her habit when she was doing something for the baby, or doing laundry.  Had the other side of the family been as adversarial as in the other case and said "Did you check her BAC?" it might have gotten criminal for her, too.

These things happen SO. FAST.  And the culpable mindstate the state is alleging by charging Jana, "recklessness", is the same as for manslaughter if things had went poorly.


If a neighbor or cop had to bring a kid back, while it is clearly not intentional neglect, she is being charged with "recklessness" -- so she would have had to have known a danger and disregarded it.  That tracks with many possibilities -- this wasn't the first time an escapee had gotten out, perceived impairment, or the totality of the circumstances just suggesting she had to have been more than simply negligent to not realize the kid of whatever age kid was gone that long/that far.

Either way, they should be praising God that all the kids involved were safe, and trying to figure out a way between all the SAHMs there to have two adults in charge at once -- as well as adding door alarms, etc, to deal with the fact they DO have unfenced ponds nearby that might not be theirs to fence.  

As much as I wish they'd take this seriously, I admit that the tabloids seemingly attacking the "next Duggar in line" are probably not helping them see that the world is not totally against them but is instead trying to protect their kids if they won't do the job themselves.

  • Upvote 12
  • Love 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

if Jessa's statement is 100% true and all that happened, my guess for the police charges (as a mandated reporter) are: Duggars/Ms having an open or potential or past CPS file. I've always been told to report everything, no matter how small. CPS (especially in more rural or understaffed areas) may only have the resources to jump at the BIG reports, but many little reports over and over again can trigger an investigation. 

While I agree the local LE may have had it with the Duggars, I don't think this was a malicious, take them for all they're worth, type scenario. I think the officer involved here is aware of how important documentation can be if you worry about those kids. Sorry it had to be Jana when the parents/grandparents deserve the charges, but this isn't about the adult, this is about protecting those kids. 

  • Upvote 17
  • I Agree 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know someone who had this happen. The child got out of the house early in the morning and was found by a stranger wandering around on the street. The police bought the child home and the parents hadn't even known he was gone. 

I don't think any charges were laid but CPS was involved for about a year and I know they were warned that another incident would result in the kids being pulled from the home.

Since this is not Jana's child, charges might have been laid as an extra warning.

  • Upvote 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I posted the pictures of the small ponds in other properties near the Duggars because I think it’s possible that’s part of it. If I had a pond on my property, I would want the neighbor kids to always be supervised and not near my property unsupervised. 

  • Upvote 14
  • I Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder how many kids she was also babysitting? Ive always imagined things in their house to be utter chaos and the older daughters dumped with way more small children than one person could manage. Even if she's experienced, so are people who work at daycares, and there's an adult:child ratio for a reason.

Im guessing she was in charge of like 10 kids at once, on her own, didnt even realise one was missing, and the police thought it was very reckless of one person to be in charge of so many kids that one left the house unnoticed, especially if they'd gotten quite far or if they were very young, or if this happens regularly and this chage was just the final straw. If it was the Ms, Im thinking its likely they are on the radar of CPS, given their dad's charges, so there's extra caution.

Im actually surprised this is the first charge of child endangerment from a fundie family.

Edited by ILoveJellybeans
  • Upvote 23
  • I Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, Casserole said:

if Jessa's statement is 100% true and all that happened, my guess for the police charges (as a mandated reporter) are: Duggars/Ms having an open or potential or past CPS file. I've always been told to report everything, no matter how small. CPS (especially in more rural or understaffed areas) may only have the resources to jump at the BIG reports, but many little reports over and over again can trigger an investigation. 

While I agree the local LE may have had it with the Duggars, I don't think this was a malicious, take them for all they're worth, type scenario. I think the officer involved here is aware of how important documentation can be if you worry about those kids. Sorry it had to be Jana when the parents/grandparents deserve the charges, but this isn't about the adult, this is about protecting those kids. 

I think this is spot on. I think it's about making a paper trail on the Duggars.

And if, as was previously hypothesized, it was one of the M kids and there is an open CPS report, everything must be reported.

  • Upvote 10
  • I Agree 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm clearly in the minority but I love it when Jessa doesn't keep sweet. She was raised to always keep sweet and be pleasant to others; i can't criticize her for going against that. Sure I want her to direct that sass at JB and Michelle more, but the fact is until Jana's court appearance we really can't say one way or another. Maybe Jana was reckless or maybe it was the kind of mistake that could happen to anyone. We'll see.

  • Upvote 26
  • I Agree 2
  • Love 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's incredibly likely that this isn't the first time the police have been called to that address because of a lost kid or even trespassing on the neighbor's property.  

Though I have sympathy for the first time a kid gets lose (my kids are hellions, it's a miracle we haven't had this happen .... yet), it would be questionable for the cops not to issue a citation if this was a repeat offense.  Not sure the truth can come out though, as there may not be a record of prior warnings. I had an odd thought (that may not be correct)- I don't really recall much babyproofing in the house on the show, which is crazy to me.  But I haven't watched all episodes. 

I'm pissed that it was Jana and not Michelle or Jim Bob that got the citation.  

  • Upvote 7
  • I Agree 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, ILoveJellybeans said:

I wonder how many kids she was also babysitting? Ive always imagined things in their house to be utter chaos and the older daughters dumped with way more small children than one person could manage. Even if she's experienced, so are people who work at daycares, and there's an adult:child ratio for a reason.

Im guessing she was in charge of like 10 kids at once, on her own, didnt even realise one was missing, and the police thought it was very reckless of one person to be in charge of so many kids that one left the house unnoticed, especially if they'd gotten quite far or if they were very young, or if this happens regularly and this chage was just the final straw. If it was the Ms, Im thinking its likely they are on the radar of CPS, given their dad's charges, so there's extra caution.

Im actually surprised this is the first charge of child endangerment from a fundie family.

Evidently the Duggar kids and Tyler were away on a vacation on that date, so unless the M kids had cousins or friends visiting, the max would  have been 6 with a nearly 12 YO 10 and 8 YOs in the mix. Unfortunately if this involved the youngest (at that time) M, she would have been 21 months old. Maybe the age of the child also affects the seriousness of the charges. Also, if this number of kids was involved and Jana was awake or the door was left open as Jessa’s comment suggested, how long would a 21 MO be missing before you, Mack or Mike would notice? I tend to believe the Jana was sleeping and left Mack and Mike in charge script.

Edited by SassyPants
  • Upvote 5
  • I Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm, I'm not sure where to rate Jessa's state on the Duggar "facts" scale. Maybe inching more towards the lower end of the spectrum, similar to, "Good golly, we don't know why people keep reporting the FBI raided us, no such thing ever happened!" We know the Duggars have an excellent track record of telling the truth and never covering anything up. 

  • Upvote 10
  • I Agree 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, meep said:

Hmm, I'm not sure where to rate Jessa's state on the Duggar "facts" scale. Maybe inching more towards the lower end of the spectrum, similar to, "Good golly, we don't know why people keep reporting the FBI raided us, no such thing ever happened!" We know the Duggars have an excellent track record of telling the truth and never covering anything up. 

Technically true, right? It was homeland security if I remember correctly.

About the child endangerment thing, I want more info, preferably from a verified source. Including the number and ages of children Jana was in charge of, preferably. I have no doubt that the Duggars frequently leave too many kids with too few adults. I wouldn't be surprised if there are random grandchildren just dropped off at the TTH on occasion. Like it's mealtime and they gather and it's like "oh, Spurge. When did you get here?" and then Josie or someone pipes up "Oh, yeah, Jessa dropped him off a few hours ago. I forgot to tell you." 

Was Jana the only adult? How many kids were there? Did Jana know how many kids were there? Did she agree to watch all these kids or was it just expected of her? How many times has this happened before, and if it did was it while kids were under her care?

I suspect that the TTH is constant chaos and has been for years. If it really was neglect, I hope it's dealt with appropriately. But I'm reluctant to blame Jana too much without more info. It seems too much like something that could happen to anyone.

  • Upvote 17
  • I Agree 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, MomJeans said:

I think it's incredibly likely that this isn't the first time the police have been called to that address because of a lost kid or even trespassing on the neighbor's property.

I imagine they've been there lots of times because of the Duggars calling about someone (fan or non-fan) gawking near or on the property.  Maybe enough times to have become a total PITA.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, FleeJanaFree said:

I’m waiting til January 10th before I accept this explanation. Jessa  didn’t give any real details. Age of the child, how long they were gone, if they were found near cars or water or other danger, if Jana was sleeping, etc. it was a nothing statement purely to minimize. I’ve seen rumors it was a child under the age of 2 or that Jana lied and said she didn’t know the child which was the real reason she’s in trouble. I just don’t know. I need more facts. I get that kids can be fast but that doesn’t mean the adult in charge isn’t responsible.
 

I work with kids. If I lost a kid at work, I’m sure it would be an accident but I would still expect to be fired and charged with neglect, what makes Jana different? 

But that’s the thing - again, don’t know about Arkansas, maybe they hand endangerment tickets out like candy — but in my state - endangerment charges are pretty unusual. I worked with literally hundreds  of active CPS cases, the majority with the parents reunifying from foster care — and very few of them had endangerment charges. Almost all of the endangerment charges that resulted in anything were around kids getting into needles etc that were left out while a parent nodded off, or driving under the influence with a kid in the car —- Certainly none for a kid wandering off UNLESS it was already an active CPS case or the parent was heavily under the influence when it happened.Since it’s not  likely Jana was high - the larger possibility is the M kids have an open monitoring case. Which I would assume would make the rest of the family even more resentful of Josh. Here is the sister who is helping out, just got back from vacation, has a terrifying- but extremely common- experience while babysitting - AND gets in legal trouble and her name dragged because of the trouble her brother has caused. 

 

18 minutes ago, BernRul said:

I'm clearly in the minority but I love it when Jessa doesn't keep sweet. She was raised to always keep sweet and be pleasant to others; i can't criticize her for going against that. Sure I want her to direct that sass at JB and Michelle more, but the fact is until Jana's court appearance we really can't say one way or another. Maybe Jana was reckless or maybe it was the kind of mistake that could happen to anyone. We'll see.

Me too. I’m not sure how much we’ll find out though, unless Jana or her lawyer make a statement. It could very well just be dropped or handled through paperwork without a lot of public detail. 

  • Upvote 6
  • Thank You 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HerNameIsBuffy locked this topic
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.