Anna Duggar in ‘high spirits’ after spending Christmas with Josh, but more legal problems could await
The “Josh Duggar jail” question has begun spinning in the rumor mill once more, following confirmation that the embattled former moralist did indeed get to spend Christmas with his family. A Duggar family spokesperson alleged that Anna Duggar is in “high spirits” following a Christmas visit to Josh’s room at a faith-based treatment center for sex addiction…but legal problems may remain for the troubled 27-year-old.
The Josh Duggar jail possibility has been discussed by insiders and onlookers alike since Duggar was sued by former porn star Danica Dillon late last year. Dillon is suing Josh Duggar for “multiple physical assaults during paid sexual encounters”; her lawsuit is merely the latest in a long string of scandals and misdeeds related to the Arkansan, who, several months ago, checked into a long-term sex-addition treatment center with significant ties to the Duggar clan. Josh Duggar brought down his family’s media empire in 2015, thanks to the double-barrel blast of being named in the Ashley Madison leak scandal and the publication of a police report that stated he molested members of his family while a teenager himself.
In addition, rumors about the state of Josh and Anna Duggar’s marriage have persisted for weeks, thanks to Anna Duggar’s first post-scandal interviews in TLC’s just-concluded Jill & Jessa: Counting On special. An allegedly “desperate” Josh wants to do something grand–along the lines of a vow renewal ceremony, or even a fifth baby–in order to “salvage” his marriage with Anna. Anna Duggar, for her part, recently compared her husband to a baby, but said that her ultimate hope was for a “restored marriage” with Josh, whose sex addiction treatment is open-ended.
According to the family itself, though, Anna Duggar’s recent Christmas visit to Josh was a happy one: a People report claims that “Everyone just had fun and seemed to be high spirits, including Anna.” The Duggar family private plane was spotted at an airfield in Rockford IL, where Josh is believed to be located; observers noted that the plane was only big enough to carry four adults, meaning that Josh Duggar did not return home with Anna and their children.
Now, a new report questions whether, upon leaving the center, Josh Duggar could be headed for jail. Though the Danica Dillon charges have been filed in civil court, the apparent issue is whether her allegations (and the resulting testimony) could be serious enough to prompt a criminal investigation of Josh’s devious ways.
Some legal scholars noted the similarities between Josh Duggar and Bill Cosby’s cases. Cosby, who has been accused of a wide variety of sexual misdeeds by nearly five dozen women, was recently charged in a Pennsylvania crinimal court after public outcry re-opened old investigations in several states.
And, according to criminal defense attorney Lloyd Long III, “The most likely crimes Josh could be charged with range from misdemeanor simple assault, which carries a maximum sentence of one to two years, or felony aggravated assault, which carries a 10-year to 20-year maximum sentence.”
However, Duggar family patriarch Jim Bob is said to be terrified of the Josh Duggar jail possibility, and “knows Josh would never be the same if he went inside.”
(Photo credits: Josh Duggar jail via Instagram)
