Almost 800 Come Forward With Child Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Nearly 800 people have come forward with child sexual misconduct allegations against the #BoyScoutsOfAmerica, a new lawsuit reads.

On Monday, a lawsuit was filed against the organization after 800 former scouts came forward in recent months, accusing the organization of sexual abuse that went on for nearly eight decades across the nation.

The investigation into the allegations started last spring, as lawyers began collecting accounts from alleged victims in preparation for the lawsuit. The legal action was sparked by one of the clients who claimed his scoutmaster drugged him and filled him with alcohol before sexually abusing him.

At a news conference on Tuesday morning, the lawyers announced nearly 800 other clients said they were abused, and noted that more than 350 abusers did not appear in the Boy Scouts’ disciplinary files, which would mean the organization did not properly vet its volunteers and that it hid information about the extent of the sexual abuse scandal.

“It is apparent that the Boy Scout Defendants continue to hide the true nature of their cover-up and the extent of the pedophilia epidemic within their organizations because the vast majority of new victims coming forward involve claims of abuse at the hands of pedophiles who are not yet identified by the Boy Scouts of America,” the complaint reads.

The law firm client list alleges molestation ranging from sodomy to fondling. Some of the men who abused the children were members of high stature in their communities, including police officers and members of the military, teachers, a mayor, doctors, and a child psychologist. The men would volunteer as troop leaders or assistant troop leaders to get closer to the children.

Clients say the accused men caught them in several different areas while in their supervision like in tents and homemade shelters in the wilderness, in their cars shuttling young boys back and forth to Scouting activities, and in the children’s own homes. Boy Scouts of America will have 20 days to respond to the lawsuit after it is served; the organization was also named a defendant. In a statement late Monday, the organization said it had taken steps to ensure that “we respond aggressively and effectively to reports of sexual abuse.”

“We care deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We believe victims, we support them, we pay for counseling by a provider of their choice, and we encourage them to come forward,” the statement said. “Upon receipt of this information from the group of plaintiff’s attorneys, we immediately investigated the limited information provided, and our efforts have already resulted in approximately 120 reports to law enforcement. We are continuing to manually search old paper records at the local level and will continue to notify law enforcement.”