Fans already have a lot of questions about what Jana Duggar's life is like these days, and now, it seems there may be more reason to be suspicious about what's going on at the Duggar compound. It appears Jana moved out of Jim Bob and Michelle's house right after she was charged with child endangerment at the end of 2021, and there might have been a legal reason for that.
Last week, we learned that Jana's living on her own — kind of.
In any other situation, it wouldn't be surprising at all that a woman in her early 30s hadn't yet settled down with a partner and kids. As her younger sisters continue to get married and start families of their own, however, fans have always wondered why oldest Duggar daughter Jana hasn't done the same.
As her sister, Jinger, revealed, it's likely that it's because the cult-like religious organization the Duggars belong to, the Institute in Basic Life Principles, simply doesn't allow it, believing that unmarried women who move out of their parents' homes are open to "Satan's attacks."
It wasn't long after that, thanks to intel from an anonymous Duggar brother, that we found out Jana actually did move out to a tiny house on Jim Bob and Michelle's property, so she's technically living by herself while still under her father's control, which fits the IBLP's rules.
But now, it appears Jana may have been forced to leave.
Duggar critic and vlogger Katie Joy of Without a Crystal Ball took to her Instagram account to point out something about Jana's move that has been overlooked so far: the timing.
It turns out that it might not have been about independence — it may have actually been something that she was legally required to do.
In 2021, Jana was charged with child endangerment.
Though the news didn't break immediately, we found out in December 2021 that, just months earlier in September, she'd run into some legal trouble of her own amid older brother Josh's scandal, which was unfolding in court around the same time.
Jana was charged with welfare endangerment of a minor, and later, her sister Jessa shared more details in an Instagram post in defense of her sister.
"She was babysitting, and one of the kids slipped out the door unnoticed, but it ended safely," Jessa explained.
Jana may not have been allowed to live in the same home with the minor in question.
The rumor is that the child involved was one of Anna's, and at the time, reports claimed that her brood was mostly spending time at the Duggar home while Anna essentially had moved in with Josh at the house he was required to live in while he awaited trial.
Now, Katie Joy is pointing out how, right after Jana pleaded guilty to the charge, Anna and her children moved out of their warehouse and into the Duggars' main house, and that may have meant that Jana had to change her address so she wasn't living under the same roof as the child involved in the case.
"Individuals that plead guilty to child endangerment can also be placed in the Child Maltreatment registry which can prohibit them from living with children or the child victim," Katie Joy wrote in her Instagram post about the situation.
Jana is rumored to have been heavily involved with the care of Anna's children at the time.
"Jana moved out after she pled guilty into a small mobile home, Anna moved in with the kids. Which is more than likely not a coincidence according to individuals that I spoke with knowledge of how these types of case work," Katie Joy wrote. "Jana was caring for Josh & Anna’s children because Anna moved in with Josh in Elkins, AR while on house arrest. She left the kids with the Duggars while she stayed with Josh for the months before trial."
So far, nobody from the Duggar family — including Jana — has confirmed this information, but it's definitely interesting to see the way the timelines line up.
