A *Real* Investigation into IBLP

IBLP’s Headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Jeri Lofland blogs at Heresy in the Heartland. The following was originally published by Jeri on June 22, 2014, and is reprinted with permission.

Thoroughness:

Knowing what factors will diminish the effectiveness of my work or words if neglected

–Bill Gothard

Bill Gothard’s buddy David Gibbs, Jr. has now completed his “investigation” into allegations made against Gothard by former IBLP staff members. According to the IBLP board earlier this week,

“…the Board sought the facts through a confidential and thorough review process conducted by outside legal counsel. Many people were interviewed, including former Board members, current and past staff members, current and past administrators, parents, and family members.

“At this point, based upon those willing to be interviewed, no criminal activity has been discovered.”

But according to the team at Recovering Grace,

“…not one of the women who have shared their stories on our site were personally contacted by Gibbs Jr. or his investigative team, including Charlotte, who alleged molestation.“

Perhaps Gibbs Jr. needs to brush up on his Character Qualities.

It would seem that Gibbs’ investigation focused narrowly on certain allegations of sexual impropriety (some of which Gothard has admitted to, resulting in his resignation). However, this is but the sensational tip of the iceberg and ignores the broad scope of hurtful, unethical, and even illegal activities that have damaged numerous lives associated with the Institute in Basic Life Principles.

Gothard promoted his organization as “Giving the world a new approach to life” and following God’s “non-optional principles”. A ministry that prides itself on being “under authority” should have nothing to fear from the truth. And yet, the testimonies of some former students and staff members paint a disturbing picture. Some of these stories of life under the auspices of the Institute have been published on Recovering Grace. Others have been shared more privately. Some victims are willing to have their names attached to their experiences while others prefer anonymity, or pseudonyms.

Each of the incidents outlined below could likely be explained away on its own. But taken together they suggest a pattern that I believe is worthy of deeper examination. The Board of IBLP can write, “We dedicate ourselves to help build up families and individuals,” but if these situations actually took place, the Institute’s so-called “ministry” is a farce, with or without Gothard, and IBLP should be shut down to prevent further abuse of power.

A real investigation of IBLP might look into allegations of the following:

OSHA and other code violations at all locations: Indianapolis, Oak Brook, Elms Plantation, Oklahoma City, Eagle Mountain, Eagle Springs, Northwoods, Big Sandy, Flint, South Campus, Little Rock, Nashville, and others

For example:

• Lack of permits: illegal remodeling, dredging a lake without a permit, improper electrical wiring
• Poor fire safety: hiding fire extinguishers and fire pulls behind paintings or décor items; silencing a monitored fire alarm to avoid disrupting conferences, not reporting fires to fire department
• Improper supervision: letting teens work on upper-story building exterior or fire escapes without safety harness
• Injuries: electrical shocks from unsafe practices, minors injured while operating power tools, carbon monoxide poisoning of kitchen volunteers, which according to a post by ZBLawOffice.com qualifies as workplace injuries
• Faulty elevators
• Violations of residential occupancy limits

Prayer rooms (especially at 2820 N. Meridian, Indianapolis):

• locking minors in solitary confinement without notifying parents
• locking minors in solitary without access to a restroom
• withholding food or medication
• spanking minors without parental consent

Failure to protect children by reporting abuse:

• failure to report sex acts with or molestation or attempted sexual molestation of minors in IBLP’s care at the ITC (Rodger Gergeni)
• failure to report sexual abuse of minors in ATI families (Bill Gothard)
• pressure on homeschooled victims not to report physically abusive parents
• shaming victims of sexual assault and neglecting to counsel them to contact police
• pressuring ATI moms not to divorce abusive husbands who posed a danger to the children

Educational neglect:

• failure to educate “homeschooled” minors who were sent to IBLP centers by their parents
• using A.C.E. curriculum for children sent by the courts
• violation of child labor laws
• children (9-10 years old) working in the kitchen or cleaning bathrooms, sometimes rising as early as 4 or 5 a.m. to work
• unpaid teenagers working 12-18 hour days in the hotels (cooking, industrial laundry, cleaning hotel rooms and public restrooms)
• selling teens unaccredited degrees (Telos.edu) without adequate explanation of their value

Forced fasting:

• on weekends, designated prayer days, and other times when meal preparation was inconvenient
• though some children were sent there by the state and other students paid for room and board, only two meals were served on Saturday and only supper on Sunday
• sometimes only two meals a day were served for weeks in a row
• requiring students to turn in care packages
• also mandatory weight checks (Weigh Down) for staff women, involuntary diets, forced exercise
• failure to recognize eating disorders such as anorexia (even when girls were passing out)

Medical neglect:

• withholding or confiscating prescription medication (including antidepressants, an asthma inhaler, post-surgery pain medication)
• refusal to get prompt medical treatment for severe burns, broken bones, concussions, pneumonia, collapsed lung, high fevers, torn ligaments, acute food poisoning–many former students trace chronic health problems to untreated conditions that arose at training centers
• treating injuries with alternative remedies such as sugar water injections (Dr. Hemwall)
• letting doctors or dentists with revoked licenses treat students at training centers

Campaign ethics:

• sending youth to campaign for Indianapolis judicial and mayoral candidates
• providing private services to a public official (Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin) in Oklahoma

Employer issues:

• pressuring employees not to record overtime on time sheets
• advising employees that submitted overtime hours would not be paid
• mandatory unpaid evening work teams for employees (washing dishes, cleaning carpets, scrubbing bathrooms)
• paying less than minimum wage, paying minimum wage minus “rent”
• firing employees without due process or notice
• refusal to pay workers’ compensation
• instructing employee to lie to hospital staff to protect the “ministry”
• praising employees who gave up their paycheck to become volunteers
• allowing children under 16 to work more than twenty hours a week
• sexual harassment of junior staff or students by adult staff

ALERT:

• physical abuse, medical neglect, solitary confinement, unsafe equipment, psychological abuse
• refusal to contact parents regarding medical emergencies
• keeping four teens tied together by the feet for an entire day, resulting in injury
• a unit of under-dressed teen boys standing outdoors in sub-freezing temperatures at night until one confessed to a minor infraction
• disregard for basic safety precautions

Mistreating Russian orphans in Moscow and at Indianapolis South Campus:

• foster families spanking children and even teens
• children spanked for minor misdeeds
• English-speaker spanking Russian child without an interpreter present
• withholding meals from children for disciplinary purposes or feeding them only dry rolled oats and water
• child labor (reports of children required to clean toilets at 5 a.m.)
• using orphans to “encourage” financial donors

Restricted communication from training centers:

• limited access to public phones, email, fax, or internet
• reading students’ outgoing or incoming mail, confiscating mail or making students open mail in presence of a leader
• censoring outgoing email
• telling students what to tell (or not tell) their parents about situations at the training center
• limiting who a student or employee was allowed to correspond with outside
• restricting conversation or interaction between fellow students

Psychological abuse:

• lengthy, repetitive, or middle-of-the-night “counseling” sessions (berating and brainwashing)
• restricting sleep
• piping loud music into bedrooms
• assigning staff to night duties on consecutive nights (along with their day jobs)
• requiring student to wash clothing by hand until she had earned “privilege” of using the laundry facilities; requiring staff to recite extensive Bible passages before breaking a fast
• confiscating clocks
• hours of forced labor intended to “break will” or “conquer rebellion”

Violations of privacy:

• not permitting students to take bathroom breaks or use the restroom alone, or with the door closed
• confiscating personal items such as clothing, music, photographs, medication, and cell phones

Miscellaneous:

• sending unreported cash through customs on staff member’s person
• exaggerating or misrepresenting facts in newsletters
• promotional video about ALERT describing a pilot “rescue” omitted the fact that it was ALERT’s own plane that crashed while taking aerial photos of the property)
• personal gifts of cash or clothing from Gothard to his favorites
• discrimination against males who appeared “too effeminate” and females who were overweight or not “feminine” enough
• photoshopping hair, clothing, and landscaping for newsletter photos
• selling overpriced plant kits to ATI families under fraudulent advertising
• serving old (long-expired) donated food or insect-infested grain
• transferring minors across state lines between “training opportunities” without parental permission or notification
• insisting that Character First was not affiliated with Gothard

With former ATI students and IBLP staff reporting incidents like these, is it any surprise that so few choose to use Gothard’s materials with their own children?