Boy Scouts Files For Bankruptcy Amid Sexual Abuse Scandals

The Boys Scouts of America had been embroiled in a massive sexual abuse scandal (Beal Air Force Base).

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) formally filed for bankruptcy protection on February 18 as hundreds of former boy scouts stepped forward to share stories of sexual abuse, reports AP. In the organization’s official Chapter 11 filing, a move that helps accused parties protect their assets by placing ceilings on the amount of compensation given to victims, BSA claimed that they expect approximately 1,700 known abuse claims to be made, with 90 percent of such claims dating back up to 30 years ago, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The number of victims willing to share their stories has sharply increased in the past two years as 14 states and the District of Columbia revised their laws to extend or suspend the statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims, reports AP. Victims can now step forward about experiences that stretch decades back. Court papers show that the BSA acknowledges that approximately 12,000 people have been molested by 7,800 abusers since the 1920s, with victims coming from all 50 states.

Christopher Veilleux opened up on the Fox News Rundown podcast to share his story of sexual abuse in 1982, urging other victims to “come forward, to be brave.” Jeff Williams, a former boy scout from Cincinnati who alleged that a scout leader molested him at age nine, expressed his own conflicted feelings toward the organization, saying, “I think that the thing that bothers me most is they could have stopped it…. Boy Scouts does so much good for so many young kids. It's not a bad organization. It was run poorly,” KVOA reports. 

Williams is unable to participate in any lawsuits due to Ohio’s statute of limitations on sexual abuse, which has been recognized as among the worst in the nation, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Recently, Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) has come out in support of amending it.

In filing for bankruptcy, the BSA asked for a court order to halt the 275 pending lawsuits around the country and consolidate them in a Delaware federal court for a closed-to-the-public mediation proceeding, reports the Wall Street Journal. If approved, the motion would prevent the BSA’s 261 independent local councils from facing juries over the alleged sexual abuses, allowing the BSA to protect major assets of local councils. An article by Axios noted the similarities between the BSA’s choice to file for bankruptcy protection now and the Catholic Church’s Chapter 11 filing. With 70 percent of the organization’s $3.3 billion in assets held by local councils, the possibility remains that the local councils will be able to retain the majority of the organization’s properties.

Although BSA officials have come forward to denounce the abusers, with Boy Scouts President and CEO Roger Mosby saying that he is “outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children,” a lawsuit spearheaded by Abused in Scouting claims that the “BSA knew for decades that sexual predators of boys had infiltrated scouting” and “knew or should have known the dangers.” 

So far, Abused in Scouting has gathered more than 500 separate cases of abuse in the BSA, ranging from men as old as 88 to as young as 14. It plans to continue running nationwide TV advertisements in an attempt to uncover the depths of the scandal. Andrew Van Arsdale, a lead attorney with Abused in Scouting, put the magnitude of misconduct into context, saying, “Once the phones started ringing, they have not stopped.” 

Although the BSA gave a press statement on February 20 pledging to provide “equitable compensation [to] victims who were harmed during the time in Scouting,” it provided no further details.