Boy Scouts of America Seeks Legal Protection over Sex Abuse Claims

 

By Jill Robbins

18 February 2020

The Boy Scouts² of America, BSA, asked a federal court in the United States for legal protection Tuesday.

The group wants to be declared bankrupt – meaning it is unable to pay its debts. The BSA says the move will help it to pay the fines courts have awarded to men who suffered abuse while taking part in its programs as boys.

There has been a growing number of cases against the Boy Scouts of America in recent years. The main reason for this is a change to state laws. Until recently, many states had a statute³ of limitations, SOL, law that required people who suffered from abuse as children to report it by the time they were 21 years old.

The CHILD USA research group notes that 2019 was a big year for SOL reforms. Nineteen states approved laws allowing people who suffered abuse as children to bring legal action later in life. The group says that most victims of childhood sexual abuse reported it at around age 48.

Several thousand men have accused local or regional Boy Scout¹ leaders of unwanted sexual contact. Many cases relate to incidents dating back to the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

Effect of prevention policies

BSA says there were only five known abuse victims in 2018. It credits the change to a number of prevention policies enacted⁴ since the 1980s. The group now requires criminal background investigations⁵ and abuse-prevention training for all employees and volunteers. There is also a rule that two or more adult leaders must be present during all activities.

Paul Mones is a lawyer representing men who have brought cases against the Boy Scouts of America. He says the group's leaders knew about the sexual abuse for years and tried to hide it. Mones believes they "made their decision to protect their reputation over the safety of innocent children."

Roger Mosby is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boy Scouts of America. He said in a statement that "the BSA cares deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologizes to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting⁶."

Until last spring, the organization had said it never permitted an abuser it knew about to work with young people. But in May, The Associated Press (AP) reported that lawyers for abuse victims had shown cases where the BSA permitted leaders who carried out sexual abuse to return. The following day, Mike Surbaugh, who was then Boy Scouts' chief executive, wrote to a congressional committee that BSA had allowed abusive leaders to return.

Reports of secret files

The AP reports that BSA has secretly kept records since the 1920s listing employees and volunteers involved in sexual abuse. The purpose of these files, they say, was to keep abusers away from Scouts. Court papers as of January show the files listed 7,819 suspected abusers and 12,254 victims.

The size of the legal fines could be huge because the Boys Scouts of America operates in all 50 states.

BSA's declaration of bankruptcy⁷ could temporarily delay payments to thousands of victims. But in the end the legal action could force the group to sell some large properties, including campgrounds and wilderness⁸ paths. The organization said in its court papers that it is worth between $1 billion and $10 billion, and it owes from $500 million to $1 billion.

BSA's finances have suffered recently because of lower membership and payments to victims of abuse. In the 1970s, the group had up to 4 million members. Now, there are fewer than 2 million. The Boy Scouts began including girls in 2017.

Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts of America is paying a high price for sexual abuse. One difference between BSA and the Catholic Church is that the church's finances are based on local groups of churches, while the Boy Scouts are a national organization.

Mike Pfau is a lawyer in Seattle. His law office is working with many men who claim they suffered sexual abuse as Scouts. He said. "A Boy Scout bankruptcy would be bigger in scale than any other child abuse bankruptcy we've ever seen."

James Kretschmer of Houston is one of the men bringing a case against the BSA. He says, "It is a shame because at its core and what it was supposed to be, the Boy Scouts is a beautiful organization."

"But you know, anything can be corrupted," he added. "And if they're not going to protect...the children, then shut it down and move on."

Words in This Story

statute of limitations – n. a law that states the amount of time that must pass before a crime can no longer be punished or a right can no longer be given

regional – adj. of or related to an area or territory

bankruptcy – n. a condition of financial failure caused by not having the money that you need to pay your debts

church – n. a building where Christians⁹ or other people gather for religious services.

1 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。

2 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。

3 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

4 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

6 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

7 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。

8 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

9 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。