In a lawsuit filed earlier this week, the homeschooling program used by the Duggar family, The Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), has been accused of aiding in the cover up of sexual assault on underage girls, according to the Washington Post.
As the Post explains:
Each of the plaintiffs – Gretchen Wilkinson, Charis Barker, Rachel Frost, Rachel Lees and Jane Doe – seeks $50,000 in damages, allegeing that the organization and its board acted negligently, with willful and wanton disregard for them, and engaged in a civil conspiracy to conceal the wrongdoing.
Just last year, the former president of IBLP, Bill Gothard, resigned after facing accusations from more than 30 women of sexual harassment. Insiders have noted that Gothard’s status within the community made those who felt they had been abused afraid to confront him.
IBLP is the same institute that the Duggars sent Josh Duggar to after he admitted to his family that he had sexually assaulted four of his sisters and a family friend.
IBLP has issued no statement regarding the litigation against them.
For more on this, read the article from the Washington Post titled: “Five women sue Bill Gothard’s ministry that has ties to the Duggars.“