Five women filed a lawsuit against The Institute in Basic Life Principles, a Christian organization founded by Jim Bob and Michelle's close friend Bill Gothard, for an alleged sexual abuse cover-up.
- Oct 24, 2015
AceShowbiz - The Duggars of "19 Kids and Counting" is facing another sex scandal. Five women sued the family's go-to conservative homeschooling program The Institute in Basic Life Principles, which was founded by Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar's close friend Bill Gothard, for an alleged sexual abuse cover-up.
Gretchen Wilkinson, Charis Barker, Rachel Frost, Rachel Lees and a Jane Doe filed a lawsuit in Illinois' DuPage County Circuit Court on Tuesday, October 20, claiming they were victims of "sexual abuse, sexual harassment and inappropriate/unauthorized touching." Most of them were minors when joining the organization as program or seminar participants and were later hired.
According to the suit, IBLP allowed "unlawful conduct" by "failing to train and/or supervise their staff and management or have appropriate policies and procedures in place to detect and deter sexual abuse...of young female interns, employees, pr participants in IBLP programs" and "failing to report known allegations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment...to the appropriate law enforcement agencies."
According to Radar Online, a hearing has been set for January 19, 2016. The five women are seeking $50,000 in damages.
Jim Bob, Michelle and their 19 children have long been associated with IBLP and Bill, who resigned from the Christian organization in 2014 following claims he sexually abused 35 women and teens. The Duggar children were all students in the IBLP. Josh once checked into a training program at the organization after he was accused of sexual molestation as a teen.
