Where Jill Duggar Stands With Her Controversial Family Today – E! Online

Former IBLP member Emily Elizabeth Anderson shares in the series that she was Jane Doe III, as she preferred to be identified when she and nine other women sued Gothard in 2016 for alleged sexual assault and harassment.

She recalls Gothard inviting her when she was 14 to quit homeschool and live “indefinitely” at IBLP’s Chicago headquarters. He told her that her father had stopped loving her and had “lost all authority over her,” she claims, so Gothard “would be her new authority.”

Elizabeth describes an evening when Gothard took her to his office and was visibly startled to see a male assistant still working, thinking they would be alone.

Gothard resigned from the IBLP board in March 2014 amid an outside legal advisory investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct that ultimately determined he acted in an “improper”, if not criminal, manner. When IBLP shared the findings of the investigation in June 2014, Gothard said in a later-deleted statement, “My actions of holding hands, cuddling, and touching feet or hair with young ladies overstepped the boundaries of discretion and were wrong.”

The now 88-year-old did not respond to E!’s request. for comment and declined to comment on the series. He previously denied allegations of sexual misconduct.

The plaintiffs dropped their lawsuit in 2018, but told Recovering Grace (an online support community for IBLP alums and its homeschool curriculum, the Advanced Training Institute) that they “don’t recant” their allegations of the incalculable damage we believe Gothard has caused. ago, rejected. done by his actions and certain teachings.”

Elizabeth explains on the show why they stopped pursuing Gothard in court, in addition to the statutes of limitations and the financial burden: “It’s constantly retrieving the most horrifying memories of your life and telling them over and over again. When you decide to move forward in a case, it is also important to realize the emotional toll it will continue to take on you. Frankly, the cost was too high.”

Jinger Duggar, who described her breakup with IBLP in her 2023 memoir, was the only member of her family to seemingly comment in response to Gothard’s legal troubles. She tweeted in 2018 that even though she was a Christian, “I have to be honest and true to myself by tweeting this. I don’t support Bill Gothard and the Institute of Biblical.” [sic] Life principles in any way, shape or form. I find his ‘teachings’ extremely questionable.”