A ruling is expected soon in a bankruptcy case involving the Boy Scouts of America

A ruling is expected soon in a bankruptcy¹ case involving the Boy Scouts³ of America

Transcript⁴

Thousands of former scouts who were sexually abused are expecting to share in a settlement worth billions of dollars.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Just a warning here - this story contains graphic⁵ descriptions of sexual abuse. Over a period of seven decades and across the nation, the Boy Scouts of America have faced repeated accusations⁶ of sexual abuse. More than two years ago, the organization was hit with hundreds of lawsuits⁷ from former Scouts who say they were sexually abused by Scout² leaders. A Delaware judge will soon rule on the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case. It would provide more than $2.7 billion to over 82,000 claimants.

Here's NPR's Wade⁸ Goodwyn.

WADE GOODWYN, BYLINE⁹: Seventy-year-old John Sakowicz went on his first Boy Scout overnight trip with his good friend, Patrick Quinn, back when he was 12 years old in 1965. Instead of a lovely night in the outdoors, it was an unimaginable horror.

JOHN SAKOWICZ: I was abused. I was raped¹⁰, anally penetrated¹¹ when I was 12 years old. I was a student at an elementary school in New City, N.Y.

GOODWYN: Both boys say they were brutally¹² raped by the Boy Scout leader. Sakowicz's friend Patrick was so devastatingly¹³ traumatized, he drank himself to death as fast as he could, dying of liver failure at the age of 18. Sakowicz, too, has never really recovered.

SAKOWICZ: I had been accepted to Johns Hopkins University, attended the first semester, survived a suicide attempt, dropped out of college for the next three or four years. And my life has been very disrupted by that early childhood trauma¹⁴ ever since that time.

GOODWYN: If the settlement proposal is approved, the National Boy Scouts of America would provide a little less than 10% of the $2.7 billion settlement to the abuse victims. Two hundred fifty local Boy Scout councils would provide more than half a billion dollars, and the two largest insurance companies, The Hartford and Century Indemnity¹⁵, more than $1.5 billion. Finally, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will provide a quarter of a billion for claims involving the church.

ADAM SLATER: I mean, I handle a lot of sexual abuse cases. This one is just on another level, again, because of the national scale and how long it went on.

GOODWYN: Adam Slater is a founding partner at Slater Slater Schulman, which is representing more than 14,000 Boy Scout victim survivors¹⁶. Ken¹⁷ Rothweiler, Slater's colleague, is also on the Boy Scout case.

KEN ROTHWEILER: We were satisfied with the trial because we thought it went well for the survivors' group. We're hopeful that almost any day now we're going to get a decision from the court.

GOODWYN: Lawyers for the Boy Scouts of America declined to talk on the record before the judge's ruling but appear mostly satisfied with the proposed settlement.

SAKOWICZ: I will have myself a good cry.

GOODWYN: John Sakowicz says he'll be remembering Patrick Quinn back before that terrible night in 1965 when they went on their first Boy Scout trip.

SAKOWICZ: Through every day of this proceeding¹⁸, I've remembered my friend Patrick. You know, this is a case that brings closure and justice to survivors. But I know one kid, at least, who did not survive.

GOODWYN: The ruling by Delaware Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein will probably be soon. The case is then expected to be appealed to federal court.

Wade Goodwyn, NPR News, Dallas.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTINEZ: If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, there are free trained counselors¹⁹ available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Contact them by calling the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

2 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

3 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

7 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

8 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

9 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

10 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

11 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

12 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

13 devastatingly   

adv. 破坏性地，毁灭性地，极其

参考例句：

• She was utterly feminine and devastatingly attractive in an unstudied way. 她温存无比，魅力四射而又绝不矫揉造作。
• I refuted him devastatingly from point to point. 我对他逐项痛加驳斥。

14 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

15 indemnity   

n.赔偿，赔款，补偿金

参考例句：

• They paid an indemnity to the victim after the accident.他们在事故后向受害者付了赔偿金。
• Under this treaty,they were to pay an indemnity for five million dollars.根据这项条约，他们应赔款500万美元。

16 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

17 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

18 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

19 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册