ATLANTA — The Boy Scouts of America could be hit with more sex abuse claims after new court documents were released Tuesday related to a sex abuse case in Minnesota.
The documents, released by a firm that represents sex abuse victims, reveal there may have been as many as 7,819 allegedly sexually abusive troop leaders and volunteers in the Boy Scouts and over 12,000 victims.
That's four times what the organization revealed more than a decade ago. and 117 offenders in Georgia are included.
Channel 2's Nicole Carr was at the Georgia Capitol, where the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) sex abuse cases have taken center stage on debates over how the state should handle childhood sex abuse claims.
Now, local attorneys want to get their hands on details that will help support their cases.
Carr talked to Natalie Woodward and Darren Penn, Atlanta-based attorneys who represent nearly two dozen Boy Scout sex abuse cases in Georgia that Chanel 2 Action News has been documenting since 2012.
“It’s not surprising at all, but at all, but it’s incredibly sad.”Legal teams for GA victims in Boys Scouts Sex abuse cases respond to revelation of 7,800 alleged pedophile leaders ,12k + cases.Scope of abuse claims came out in recent testimony @wsbtv 6 https://t.co/O1XhB2dmE5
— Nicole Carr (@NicoleCarrWSB) April 24, 2019
"We're talking about decades and decades and decades and decades of conduct that was literally concealed," Penn said.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Police: Body believed to be missing Illinois 5-year-old, parents charged
- Fulton County wants to help you buy a house
- President Trump promises to combat opioid crisis from every angle
Woodward and Penn learned this week that there are reportedly more than 100 documented cases of abuse in Georgia, and thousands of pedophile Boy Scout leaders nationwide have been reported from the early 1940s to 2016. That's four times the number previously reported by the organization.
"Every one of those perpetrators, they represent, most often, more than one child," Woodward said. "That's the part I think that will shake anybody to their core to hear that. And then to think it took until 2019 to get into the open."
The new allegations came this week from a New York law firm that revealed names tied to cases in the Northern District of New York The testimony came from an auditor who was hired by the BSA during an unrelated child rape case.
"This is information coming from a Boy Scouts representative. This isn't even information that a third party or an independent group has been able to look over these files," Woodward said. "We're still hearing about it from them and we're yet to see the documents ourselves."
Penn said that, although he's glad the allegations are coming out now, it's way too late.
"I think what they owe and what they ought to be stepping up to the plate right now is: What do we do for all of the victims that have been created over all these years?" Penn said.
Carr learned that the Boy Scouts of America is moving to dismiss the Georgia cases, which sit in courts in the Cobb County and Athens areas. The organization released a statement in response to the allegations saying:
"We care deeply about all victims of child abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We believe victims, we support them, and we have paid for unlimited counseling by a provider of their choice. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children.
"Throughout our history, we have enacted strong youth protection policies to prevent future abuse, including mandatory youth protection trainings and a formal leader-selection process that includes criminal background checks. Since the 1920s, we have maintained a Volunteer Screening Database to prevent individuals accused of abuse or inappropriate conduct from joining or re-entering our programs, a practice recommended in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control for all youth-serving organizations.
"At no time have we ever knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth, and we mandate that all leaders, volunteers and staff members nationwide immediately report any abuse allegation to law enforcement."
"Scouting programs today are safe," said Erin Eisner, a chief strategy officer for the BSA and the mother of two Scouts. "If I felt for a second that Scouting was unsafe, I would not be associated with nor advocate for the BSA."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
