Jessa Duggar Seewald wrote a letter to Josh Duggar while he spent his first birthday in jail four years ago.
“Happy birthday, Josh! We love you and are praying for you! Love, The Seewalds,” Jessa, 33, wrote to Josh, 38, at the time in a letter obtained by People and published on Monday, May 11.
Jessa’s letter to Josh was sent in 2022 for his 34th birthday, according to the outlet. Josh was incarcerated at the Washington County Detention Center after being conviction on federal charges for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. (Josh has vehemently denied the allegations and has attempted to appeal the case numerous times after his not guilty plea during his April 2021 arraignment.)
The letter was the only message Josh received from his siblings on his 34th birthday. In addition to Josh and Jessa, Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar are parents to Jana, John-David, Jill, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace and Josie.
Josh reportedly sent a response to Jessa sharing his excitement to hear from her amid his legal woes.
“Thank you so much for the kind words,” Josh wrote, adding that he had “only got one note from a sibling so far today — you are it.”
Josh also expressed his appreciation for his sister, thanking Jessa for helping out his wife, Anna Duggar, and the couple’s seven children. He wrote that Jessa was “such an encouragement to me and Anna and our kiddos.”
He also told Jessa to “message back anytime and video chat anytime too.”
“Love you all sooo much and miss you,” he concluded.
Jessa wrote one final letter to Josh that the Lord “carries your wife and kids closer to his heart.”
Two months after receiving Jessa’s letter, Josh was sentenced to 151 months in prison. He is currently behind bars at the Federal Correctional Institution Seagoville in Texas.
After his sentencing, Josh sent a letter to his father, Jim Bob, to express his disappointment that none of his other siblings had reached out to him. (In addition to the child pornography allegations, Josh previously admitted to inappropriately touching four of his sisters as a teen.)
“It is shameful that I have received only 1 message from one of my siblings and only 1 video visit,” Josh wrote to Jim Bob, 60, per People.
Josh also included a message for his siblings that he asked his dad to share in their family’s group chat.
“[W]ith all due respect, shame on you that you didn’t reach out,” Josh wrote to his siblings, noting that they should “examine [their] hearts and lives” as well as their “own behavior” if the situation was reversed.
Josh asked his siblings to show compassion for Anna, 37, and their children as his wife “is practically a widow” and his children are “fatherless” while he serves his time.
The 19 Kids and Counting alum ended his message by expressing his love for his siblings.
“I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU EVEN THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN HURTFUL,” he wrote. “I LOVE YOU ! WITH A SPIRIT OF LOVE, -JOSH your oldest brother.”
Josh was arrested in 2021 and later convicted of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials. He is currently serving his 151-month sentence in federal prison. Us Weekly confirmed that Josh’s release is scheduled for February 2, 2033.
