Josh Duggar‘s parents have broken their silence, and frankly it’s not what we expected.

At this point we kind of figured Jim Bob Duggar might go to his grave without ever giving a statement about his son’s child pornography conviction. Throughout the trial he and Michelle Duggar said nothing. For months we’ve been hearing they supported their son — and that Jim Bob in particular was happy to sweep everything under the rug. That certainly would be in keeping with how he handled Josh revealing his child molestation habits when he was 15.

Related: Twitter Reminds Everyone About Josh’s Politician Friends

But no, the 19 Kids & Counting progenitors actually weighed in after their Joshy was found guilty of one count each of receipt and possession of child pornography. They posted to their website:

“This entire ordeal has been very grievous. Today, God’s grace, through the love and prayers of so many, have sustained us. Our hearts and prayers are with anyone who has ever been harmed through CSAM [Child Sexual Abuse Material].”

Wow, that’s… that’s not exactly acknowledgment that they know Josh is guilty, but it’s far from combative. We wondered if they wouldn’t be demanding justice and declaring they’d appeal, just protecting Josh at all costs.

Instead they focused their support first and foremost on daughter-in-law Anna Duggar, who has given birth to SEVEN of the convicted child porn downloader’s children, including one just this year. They continued:

“In the days ahead, we will do all we can to surround our daughter-in-law Anna and their children with love and support. As parents, we will never stop praying for Joshua, and loving him, as we do all of our children. In each of life’s circumstances, we place our trust in God. He is our source of strength and refuge. Thank you for your prayers.”

Is it just us, or is that statement very pointedly NOT defending Josh? It almost seems like they were as convinced by the facts in the trial as we were.

Or…

Maybe it’s the fact Jim Bob is running for State Senate in Arkansas. He knows as a political candidate he’ll face questions about it — and his team told him how bad it would look to defend someone who watched the kind of things he did?

What do YOU think of Jim Bob and Michelle’s statement? Not what you were expecting either??

[Image via Josh Duggar/Twitter/Duggar Family/Instagram.]

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