Jill Duggar was ready to take the stand against her older brother, Josh Duggar, during his 2021 child pornography trial, she revealed in Amazon’s new docuseries, Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets. “I was prepared to testify against my brother,” the Counting On star, 32, candidly told cameras. “I guess they got what they needed from someone else.” Jill was present for Josh’s entire 2021 trial and for the day he was found guilty on two charges of knowingly receiving and possessing child pornography images. Josh began his 12-year prison sentence in June 2022.
As fans will recall, Josh’s pornography trial was his second headline-making scandal in several years. In 2015, news broke that he had been accused of molesting five underage girls when he was a teen, with four of them being his sisters, including Jill. The 19 Kids and Counting alum briefly spoke about the heartbreaking time in her life in Shiny Happy People and hesitantly admitted that no one was ever supposed to know that the eldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar had inappropriately touched her. “We wish nobody had ever found out about any of that,” her husband, Derick Dillard, said as Jill struggled to find words.
“There were certain things that, like, she shared with me in confidence because we were a married couple that in all of our hopes would remain confident between us until we both died,” he added. Jill then broke down into tears and reiterated the fact that she doesn’t want to talk about the situation. “The moment that the reports, everything, was released, that was the moment it was public,” she confirmed.
Later in the docuseries, however, the mother of three said she was guilted into sitting down with Megyn Kelly in 2015 to defend Josh with her sister, Jessa. During the interview, they confirmed Josh molested them, but stated they didn’t think it was accurate to describe him as a “child molester, pedophile, or rapist.”
“There was an urgency in trying to figure out how the show was going to be handled in the wake of the 2015 events,” Jill explained in Shiny Happy People with her supportive husband by her side. “As far as recovery and damage control, you just feel like a burden and the weight falls on you to help.” She confessed that the interview is not one of her proudest moments.
Derick added his own insight into the ordeal, boldly calling Jill and Jessa’s televised interview a “suicide mission.” He added, “Like, ‘You’re gonna destroy yourself, but we need you to take the fall so we can carry the show forward because the show cannot fail.’ [The Duggars] were gonna do whatever they could to get the return on their investment. If that meant collateral damage, that meant collateral damage.”
Jill and Derick were the first of Josh’s immediate family to speak out following his May 2022 sentencing. “Yesterday we learned that Josh was given a 151 month sentence in federal prison for his crime of CSAM. The last several weeks and months have been difficult emotionally. Yesterday was another one of those hard days,” they began in an official statement shared on their website. “We are neither rejoicing nor disappointed by the sentence, but we are thankful it’s finally over.”
They next confirmed their support of the outcome of the father of seven‘s trial and sentencing. “The Bible clearly states that God effects justice and vengeance through the governing authorities. Though some believe Josh should have received a greater sentence and still fewer believe he should have received a lighter sentence, God has carried out his vengeance today for his unspeakable criminal activity,” they wrote.
“Until now,” Jill and Derick continued, “he has yet to be held accountable to the extent necessary to cause change in his dangerous pattern of behavior. It is unfortunate, but it seems that it may take spending over a decade in federal prison, and still more on probation, for Josh to have any potential for rehabilitation to the point he can safely live in society again.”
The couple concluded, “Hopefully, Josh can actually begin to get treatment and begin to work toward a lifestyle where he is less likely to reoffend. If for nothing else, the notoriety of this case has hopefully contributed to the deterrence of potential offenders and will help protect children by decreasing the demand for CSAM. We continue to love Josh and his family and will be there for them however we can.”
Fans can learn more about the Duggar family and their religious organization, The Institute in Basic Life Principles, when all four episodes of Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets drop on Prime Video on Friday, June 2.