EXCLUSIVE: Duggar 'Cult-Religion' Founder Bill Gothard Keeps Low Profile Amid Joseph's Molestation Arrest — After Stepping Away in Disgrace From Church Following His Own Harassment Allegations
Joseph Duggar was raised in the male-centric teachings of Bill Gothard.
April 2 2026, Updated 2:05 p.m. ET
As critics of Joseph Duggar and his "religious cult-like" family get louder, one key voice has remained silent – the disgraced would-be minister at the center of their following, RadarOnline.com can report.
Bill Gothard, the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), was forced to slink away from his creation after facing dozens of sexual harassment and assault allegations of his own.
Gothard's 'Cult-Like' Leadership
Gothard was the leader of the controversial Institute in Basic Life Principles
Joseph's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, raised their kids under Gothard's strict God-loving guidelines and ultra-conservative foundation.
As documented on their reality show 19 Kids and Counting, the Duggar household emphasizes the importance of male authority, placing vast restrictions on how women can dress and act.
But Gothard, now 91, found himself shunned from his own organization after 34 women accused him of sexual harassment and molestation, with some incidents allegedly occurring when the victims were minors and working for him.
Gothard Slapped With Harassment Charges
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar raised their kids under the 'cult-like' religion.
Gothard denied the allegations and admitted no wrongdoing, but announced his resignation from the Institute in 2016, issuing a statement that read: "I have realized how wrong and insensitive I was to only select certain types of young people, especially young women, to serve at Headquarters, often as my personal assistants."
He did half-heartedly admit to some of the women's less serious accusations— that he inappropriately touched them and confessed his love for them when they were young girls.
"I was very wrong in holding hands, giving hugs and touching their hair or feet," he continued. "I was also wrong in making statements that caused emotional turmoil and confusion. My guilt is compounded by my hypocrisy of requiring standards for others but not following them myself."
"All of this can only be described as ungodly and sinful," Gothard added.
Gothard's Life Today
Gothard now lives a quiet life in Illinois.
Since stepping away from his church, Gothard has tried to stay out of the spotlight and away from controversy, only surfacing briefly when he was reportedly injured in a fall several years ago and spent some time in a care and recovery facility.
Today, he lives a quiet life on a tree-lined street in La Grange, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He has yet to make any public comments about Joseph or his charges.
However, plenty of Gothard's former disciples have spoken out against him and the IBLP, including former member Lara Smith, who claimed she was sexually assaulted by a staffer at a religious center when she was 17.
"We were taught our bodies don't belong to us. They belong to God," she claimed. "And so in that realm, anything that happens, God wants it to happen."
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Life Inside the IBLP
Joseph has pleaded not guilty to child molestation charges.
Smith added that the men of the religion were never held responsible for their actions, and claimed she was told during Bible study lessons: "You need to be very careful what you do, what you say, what you wear, how you act, because at any moment, you could trigger a boy, basically."
And Smith claimed she experienced that firsthand, when one night in a "training center" camp, a 21-year-old maintenance worker with a master key allegedly climbed into her bed.
"I was asleep, and suddenly he's in my bed making out with me," she claimed, alleging he came into her room multiple nights in a row thereafter. "We didn't have s--, but we did everything else. I didn't have the capacity to say, 'Hey, I don't like it.'"
