Bill Gothard, Christian Counseling Ministry Leader with Ties to Tlc's Duggar Family, Target of Sexual Assault Lawsuit by 10 Women
By Laura Bult
Ten women filed a bombshell lawsuit Wednesday alleging decades of sexual assault and rape by the longtime leader of Christian homeschooling ministry, Bill Gothard, who preaches modesty among women and has ties to Republican politicians and the reality TV Duggar family. The lawsuit is the latest development after numerous women who sought counseling at Gothard’s Institute of Basic Life Principles, a prominent religious homeschooling ministry, came forward accusing the magnetic leader of sexual abuse, some of whom were minors at the time The 81-year-old unmarried former president of the IBLP resigned from the ministry in 2014 after more than 30 women said they had been molested by him, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the story. The lawsuit filed in an Illinois circuit court includes allegations that range from sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and hand-holding, molestation and rape, according to the complaint provided to the Daily News by the lawyers representing the women at the Texas Gibbs Law Firm. The accounts, some of which were posted on a blog called Recovering Grace, come from the types of vulnerable women who would come to IBLP's training centers seeking bible study and counseling, many of them victims of incest by their fathers or older family members, or who had been sold into human trafficking. In one account, a woman only identified as Jane Doe II, who was a victim of trafficking and was sent by her abusive father to one of IBLP’s training centers in Indiana claims that she was forced to have sex with both Gothard and a 'biblical counselor," Kenneth Copley, in two separate instances.
In the woman’s account, as well as the other women’s stories involved in the lawsuit, she told IBLP staff about the assaults but they never reported it to police. Other accounts of sexual assault included in the lawsuit, filed in DuPage County Circuit Court in Illinois, accuse Gothard of holding hands, playing footsie and molesting young women sent to IBLP training centers. Although Gothard, who founded the ministry in 1961, admitted that some of his behavior toward women was a “sin” in a letter included in Wednesday’s lawsuit written to his accusers, he denied the allegations when reached by phone by the Washington Post. “Never in my life have I touched a girl sexually. I’m shocked to even hear that,” Gothard told the Washington Post. “That really is not true.” Gothard is known for urging women to dress modestly and to have large families, most famously demonstrated by the evangelical Christian Duggar family, who were associated with Gothard’s ministry and were stars of their own TLC reality TV show featuring their 19 children.
Josh Duggar, the oldest kid in the “19 Kids and Counting” family, was alleged to have been sent to an IBLP training center after he admitted to sexually abusing his younger sisters and a family friend, according to an In Touch magazine story. The 10 plaintiffs, whose accusations date back to at least 1992, are each seeking $50,000 in damages from Gothard and the organization. Scott Miller, a lawyer at the Gibbs Law firm that is handling the case, said that more women have come forward with accusations following Wednesday's lawsuit. IBLP responded to the complaint with a statement on their web site. "The Institute takes very seriously any allegations of this nature, and above all else, is interested in determining the truth. We therefore welcome the structure and integrity of the court process as a means for determining the truth with respect to these allegations," the statement read. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13th at the DuPage County Circuit Court. Contact: lbult@nydailynews.com
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