It's been five years since the world learned that Josh Duggar molested five young girls, four of whom were his own sisters.
Though he was never charged with these sex crimes, he paid a heavy price. So, tragically, did his long-suffering wife Anna.
And it's about to get worse. For her.
Josh's molestation bombshell was the start of a succession of scandals, several of which landed him in front of a judge.
The eldest of Jim Bob's 19 kids has seen his legal troubles drag on for years, and the worst might still be ahead of him.
It began when a woman named Danica Dillon sued Josh, alleging that he assaulted her during a paid sexual encounter.
Shortly after Dillon (above) filed her lawsuit, a small-time DJ Matt McCarthy also sued Josh, for altogether different reasons.
McCarthy alleged that Josh had used his photos while catfishing women on Ashley Madison, a website that facilitates affairs.
The first suit was thrown out by a judge, and the second was settled out of court. But Josh's legal woes were far from over.
In November of 2019, a car dealership owned by the 32-year-old Duggar family pariah was raided by Homeland Security.
Details of the feds' raid remain under wraps, but insiders believe Josh's employment practices were at the center of it.
Even if he escapes legal consequences in this latest case, Josh will likely have another costly court battle ahead of him.
That's a problem, as the father of six is already spread mighty thin these days, and he just lost his number one ally.
Perhaps his only one ally.
Back in April of 2019, Josh was sued for allegedly selling land that never belonged to him. (Because of course he was.)
Sounds like an open-and-shut case, but the civil suit has been dragging on for nearly a year now. And that means ...
And according to a Patheos blog maintained by lapsed members of the Duggars' Quiverfull movement, Josh is in a real bind.
He now finds himself without legal counsel, as Josh stands accused of selling his house to his attorney, Tim Story, for $10.
Ten dollars, not thousand or million.
According to the allegation, Josh would continue making the mortgage payments, and his family would continue living there.
The move appears to have been an attempt on Josh and Tim's part to hide assets from the court. Not a strong move if so.
No criminal charges have been issued at this time, but the judge has ordered that Story be removed from Josh's case.
That means even more trouble.
According to documents obtained by Patheos, Anna Duggar has been subpoenaed, and gave her deposition last week.
The record of what she said has not been made public, but her deposition came just days before the judge removed Story.
So what gives?
It's unlikely that Anna exposed Josh's house con, as wives cannot be compelled to testify against their husbands in court.
However, she probably didn't deny it either ... at least not convincingly. One can't blame her for being simply exhuasted.
After all she's been through?
In November, Anna Duggar gave birth to her and Josh's sixth child. She has been pregnant for most of the past decade.
Much of which he's spent cheating on her, lying to her, humiliating her, or being sent to rehab and leaving her with the kids.
We could go on. There's never been any relief.
“It was definitely a hard thing and it is such a betrayal for a spouse to go through what we’re rocking through," Anna said.
"It was hard to realize it was such a public thing... "That loyalty was broken. How could this happen in our marriage?"
"Josh was my first love. He’s my one and only."
"My only hope was to cling to my faith."
Translation: It was all she had left, thanks to him.
Further translation: She's trapped in a marriage and a lifestyle she has no ability to leave, even if she so desired.
Misery. Abject misery. Now comes the ultimate insult to injury: Being compelled to defend this guy under oath.
That, or if the truth implicates her husband, face the scorn from the extended family she's betrayed forever.
What we are witnessing here is a woman trapped in a prison of her husband and his family's making, full stop.
Her profession that Josh is her "first love" may sound sweet or inspiring to some, but it's all she's been allowed.
Her loyalty to him despute the "hard" times in their marriage may seem selfless, but she never had a choice,
Josh is a uniquely shady character and the Duggars in general do not allow women the freedom to live their own lives.
Let all of us here today never forget that.
Whatever happens, you can be sure there's more legal and marital turbulence ahead for the black sheep of the Duggars.
And that Anna will bear the brunt of it.
