LA GRANGE, Illinois — Two more people, now totaling 18, are suing 81-year-old Bill Gothard, founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), for sexual harassment.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, David Gibbs, compared Gothard’s case to Billy Cosby’s situation, referring to the sexual assault lawsuit against the comedian. “More and more victims keep coming forward telling the same story,” Gibbs said.
The lawsuit filed Feb. 17 paints Gothard and other IBLP leaders as manipulative and alleges that Gothard raped one young woman. The suit also alleges that harsh physical punishment and emotional abuse came from IBLP leaders and that one young man was molested by a male IBLP counselor.
Gothard denies all accusations and, according to his attorney, is considering a countersuit against the plaintiffs.
No criminal charges have been filed against Gothard in part because the statute of limitations has run out on many of the allegations. Gothard resigned from IBLP in 2014 amid allegations of sexual abuse.
(TAB, RNS)
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