Lawsuit filed against Oak Brook-based ministry with ties to Duggar family

The practice of covering up sexual abuse in these kinds of religious organizations is sickeningly common, as we saw in the case of Josh Duggar and in the cases of the many child-molesting priests in the Catholic Church, and it needs to stop.

Five women have filed a lawsuit against a Christian ministry with ties to the Duggar family, claiming the scandal-plagued Illinois nonprofit covered up the sexual abuse they suffered there as minors.

The lawsuit claims the 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”.

David Gibbs III, the attorney representing the women, said in an interview the women chose to litigate only after unsuccessful efforts to address the issues with the IBLP board of directors, who are also named in the lawsuit.

“The board is not operating in a spirit of transparency or openness”, he said, explaining that it has yet to discuss the allegations with the women.

The Institute of Basic Life Principles has been a leader in the Christian homeschooling movement since the 60s.

Just a year ago, the former president of IBLP, Bill Gothard, resigned after facing accusations from more than 30 women of sexual harassment. However, Gothard routinely denied the allegations and an internal investigation reported “no criminal activity has been discovered”, but that “Mr. Gothard has acted in an inappropriate manner”.

“For an organization that has always prided itself on doing the right thing, it’s a bit of a shame that it’s taken legal action for them to even have a discussion with the victims about this”, A Recovering Grace spokesman said about IBLP.

IBLP is perhaps most publicly recognized as the program used by the Duggar family in the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting. Sending a teenage child molester to the Institute in Basic Life Principles, an organization that lets sexual abuse fester in its highest levels of leadership, should constitute a form of abuse all its own.