This is a very dark holiday season for the Duggar family.
In addition to Josh being convicted on child pornography charges, some unexpected drama involving Jim Bob and Michelle's eldest daughter will soon have the family back in court.
As you've likely heard by now, Jana Duggar has been charged with child endangerment following an incident that occurred while she was looking after several of her youngest relatives.
At this point, Jana has so many nieces, nephews, and younger siblings that it's impossible to guess which one wandered off while under her care.
Police were involved in locating the kid.
Because of that, they had no choice but to charge Jana with a misdemeanor.
That's right: another Duggar facing charges.
Now, the Duggars are rallying around her as the family prepares for its second criminal trial in as many months.
Both involve allegations regarding the mistreatment of children.
But in every other way, Josh and Jana's circumstances could not be more different.
And that's why Jana is receiving the full support of her family.
Even the sane Duggars who had the good sense to bash Josh are speaking in her defense.
That is a very good indication of how incomparable these circumstances truly are.
Let's start with the most vocal of the bunch:
Just as Amy Duggar was the first to celebrate Josh's conviction, she's now the first member of the extended Duggar clan to speak out in defense of Jana.
“I will call out what is right and I will call out what is wrong,” Amy, 35, wrote via Instagram Stories over the weekend.
“This couldn’t have been intentional. Thank God the child was OK and found!” Amy continued.
“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.”
Amy is stressing the importance of nuance and evaluating each incident on a case-by-case basis.
Yes, it's tempting to look at Jana's case and jump to conclusions.
After all, it's not often that multiple family members are indicted for acts of child abuse in the space of a single year.
But as Jessa Duggar points out, Jana made a one-time mistake that will almost certainly never be repeated.
“She was babysitting and one of the kids slipped out the door unnoticed, but it ended safely,” Jessa wrote on her Instagram Stories on Monday.
“She is without question one of the most amazing women I know, and I’d trust her with my kids any day of the week,” Jessa’s statement continued.
“Do me a favor — give the girl a break and all you perfect humans go back to living your lives.”
From there, Jessa briefly acknowledged the Josh situation without mentioning her brother by name:
"The media is sensationalizing this because of other current family circumstances and it makes me so mad," she wrote.
“Could’ve happened to anyone.”
Well, we're not sure if if could have happened to anyone.
After all, most people will never have a time when they're solely responsible for, like, a dozen kids.
But if Jessa is trying to say that Jana's crime is like a firecracker compared to Josh's nuclear bomb, then her point is valid.
Jana also received support from her brother James' Duggar, who posted the shoutout below for his beloved big sis in his Instagram Stories.
When word of Josh's arrest got out, the other Duggars wouldn't even mention it publicly, much less defend his actions.
So maybe this family isn't quite as insane as we thought, and perhaps Jim Bob hasn't completely stripped his children of the ability to think for themselves.
We can't stress enough how different the two situations are, but as Josh sits in solitary confinement in an Arkansas county jail, many fans are wondering if there's a chance that Jana will also go to prison.
While we suppose it's a possibility, as we don't know the exact nature of the charges against her, that seems very, very unlikely.
In all likelihood, Jana's punishment will be no more severe than a fine, or perhaps some parenting classes or community service.
Those last two are a tad ironic for a woman who is not a parent and who prides herself on serving her community on a frequent basis.
But perhaps the judge in her case will take some pleasure in throwing the Duggars yet another curveball.
After all, the people who are forced to live near them in northwest Arkansas are probably enjoying the Duggars' downfall even more than the rest of us!
Actually, that's not even hypothetical -- past and present Duggar neighbors are relieved.