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Joseph Duggar pleaded not guilty this week after being arrested and extradited on charges of sexual assault of a child.
As with his disgraced older brother, his legal battle will likely only be sustained by shaming him.
Like her older sister Jana, Jessa has waited until now to speak out after Joseph’s arrest.
Jessa shows where her priorities and compassion lie.
“We are deeply saddened”
On Thursday, April 2, Jessa took to her Instagram Story to make her own statement about Joseph’s arrest.
“We, along with the rest of the world, learned of the devastating news regarding my brother Joseph,” she revealed.
This matches what many family members said – that they only knew about Joseph through the news.
Jessa expressed her deep sadness.
Then she confirmed: “Our hearts ache for this innocent girl and the harm she was subjected to.”
“This is a huge mistake,” Jessa confirmed.
“And we know that this saddens God’s heart,” she wrote.
Jessa went on to describe her God as “cares deeply about children and the vulnerable.”
To her credit, she focused a large part of her words on the child, and not on her brother Joseph.
“We lift her up in prayer, asking for comfort, healing and justice,” Jessa said.
It’s hard to know what to say, even if this isn’t your first sibling exposed to the monster
As we said, Jessa clearly directed a lot of her focus on what the victim went through.
In 2020, Joseph went on a family vacation to Florida, where he allegedly assaulted a 9-year-old girl, touching her legs and genitals.
She said this happened several times, until he finally apologized and ended the sexual assault.
Now 14, after spending years processing her trauma, she told her father – who confronted Joseph.
Since then, he has confessed twice, according to a police affidavit.
Its focus on the victim — known only as Jane Doe — takes credit.
Jessa’s statements are some of the strongest statements made by the family since Joseph’s arrest.
Jill spoke much faster than her other siblings.
Meanwhile, Jason’s speech was the most forceful, mainly referring to Joseph as evil.
It’s not often we get to nod in agreement with the Duggars. Fortunately, this time, most of them didn’t seem to think that this was a political framework or some kind of demonic spirit attack.
Not everyone in the family is on the same page
While Jessa thinks about the victim, her sister-in-law Anna seems to have other priorities.
She’s in the position Kendra may soon find herself in: raising several children alone, forbidden by the sect from divorcing or remarrying, and completely unwilling to take on most jobs that could support her family.
Anna sends support and money to Joseph. This…definitely a option.
When Josh was arrested and put on trial, Anna seemed to cling to the belief that he was the victim of an elaborate conspiracy.
We cannot rule out that she believed the same thing about Joseph. But…well, who knows.
