Roughly 50 New Jersey and 130 New York Boy Scout leaders have been accused of sexual abuse or misconduct based on specific Boy Scout files that were court-ordered to be released to the public. The internal files from the Boy Scouts of America, dating as far back as the 1920s, reveal thousands of scout leaders who have been accused of child sexual abuse or misconduct.
According to court testimony, the Boy Scouts of America’s ineligible volunteer files—sometimes colloquially referred to as the “perversion files”—catalog more than 7,800 individuals who were once within the organization and roughly 12,200 of their victims. Other documents from the ineligible volunteer files were made accessible in 2012, but the amount released was nowhere near the quantity that was recently made available after continuous litigation over the subject.
New York’s statute of limitations for filing sexual abuse charges was recently modified under the Child Victims Act, so many individuals who previously could not file a claim against the Boy Scouts of America or their individual abuser(s) due to the statute of limitations can now do so. Currently, victims can now file a claim until the age of 55, whereas the previous statute of limitations stopped at age 23. This change applies to current litigation as well as cases that could arise from the recently released Boy Scout files.
Although the released list of individuals accused of sexual misconduct is expansive, many are claiming that it is not complete and that the organization is still hiding the identities of possible perpetrators. As a result, some people are calling for the Boy Scouts of America to release a complete list.
If you or someone you love suffered abuse from a trusted member of the Boy Scouts of America, it could be crucial for you to seek legal representation. The compassionate attorneys at Goldstein and Bashner could help you navigate the legal actions you wish to take. For personalized and professional guidance, contact a knowledgeable lawyer who could work to help you hold your abuser and the institution that employed them responsible.
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