Several women who charge they were sexually abused, harassed or touched by the former president of a controversial Oak Brook-based religious and home-schooling organization filed a personal injury lawsuit against the group this week, seeking damages.
The suit filed Tuesday against the Institute in Basic Life Principles and its directors alleges the five plaintiffs were “victim of sexual abuse, sexual harassment and inappropriate/unauthorized touching, many times while they were minors, at the hand of IBLP . . . and suffered.”
Filed in DuPage County Court, the suit seeks damages in excess of $150,000 for each of the women and asks the court to impose a “constructive trust” on all IBLP assets until the lawsuit is resolved. It accuses the organization of engaging in liquidation of its estimated $100 million in assets, after announcing plans to relocate to Texas from Illinois “in an attempt to flee the jurisdiction (State of Illinois) where this wrongful conduct occurred.”
The suit, accusing the defendants of negligence, civil conspiracy and “willful and wanton acts and omissions,” does not name Bill Gothard, founder of the nonprofit organization that has operations in seven states and 11 countries. It has held seminars reaching millions, and runs the popular Advanced Training Institute International home school program.
Well-known in conservative circles, he has been photographed with former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Sarah Palin attended one of his seminars while serving as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, according to media reports.
He was forced to resign in March 2014 after dozens of women alleged on a whistle-blowing website, Recovering Grace, that they were among Gothard’s victims years ago while working at the Christian organization’s headquarters.
It was the second sex scandal involving his organization over two decades, and the board of directors said it would retain an outside entity to conduct a review of the allegations. Months later, the board announced the investigation concluded that Gothard, 80, of La Grange, acted in an “inappropriate manner,” but “no criminal activity was discovered.”
The lawsuit accuses IBLP Directors Timothy Levendusky, of Illinois; David York, of Wisconsin; John Stancil, of Tennessee; Anthony Burrus, of Texas; Gil Bates, of Tennessee; and Charles Stephen Paine Jr., of Oklahoma, of slandering the women when they made those statements.
The suit claims they and employees of the organization were aware or should have been aware Gothard was sexually harassing teen girls and women, and failed to report “potentially criminal allegations” to police or the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services.
It claims the organization “frequently received reports” of the sexual abuse and harassment, “but failed to take any type of corrective, investigative or reporting action” before the February 2014 internal investigation.
The named plaintiffs include Gretchen Wilkinson, now of Virginia, and Rachel Lees, of New Zealand, who were participants in IBLP programs and later employees there.
Charis Barker, of Georgia, and Rachel Frost, of Minnesota, were participants in IBLP programs, interned there, and were later employees. The fifth woman, from Michigan, goes by Jane Doe, and was a participant in IBLP seminars, a volunteer and a participant in Advanced Training Institute home-school programs.
The women charge that the entity hired by IBLP was paid $50,000 to conduct the investigation, yet “had no qualifications” on dealing with sexual abuse/harassment charges, resulting “in an internal investigation that was pre-ordained and nothing more than a cover-up.” They say no attempt was made to contact those among them who had filed complaints with IBLP.
After its investigation, the organization’s board had publicly announced its directors unanimously agreed that “at this time” Gothard “is not permitted to serve in any counseling, leadership or board role within the IBLP ministry.”
Gothard had left the organization he founded in 1961 after the first sex scandal and been allowed to return. That scandal, in the 1980s, had involved Gothard’s brother, Steve Gothard, who was accused of having affairs with several secretaries of the institute. Steve Gothard was forced to resign. And Bill Gothard, accused of knowing about the improprieties and failing to take action, had resigned as president for three weeks, then came back.
Kari Underwood, co-founder of the Recovering Grace website, launched to help people who said they were hurt by Bill Gothard and his ministry, last year criticized the IBLP board for failing to address the harassment allegations and provide any expression of concern for the women who made them.
And in a Chicago Sun-Times interview after the board’s finding in 2014, Bill Gothard had said: “I respect and honor the board, and my number one goal right now . . . is to go back to the ones that I have offended and ask their forgiveness.” Asked if he engaged in sexual harassment, he said, “Sexual harassment is to a large extent intent, and my intent was never to harass them.”
IBLP officials could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
