The Boy Scouts of America are facing a new wave of lawsuits from alleged adult survivors of child sex abuse claiming that the organization covered up an epidemic of sexual abuse of children.

New York State has just passed the Child Victims Act, which went into effect on August 14. Since then, nine new lawsuits have been filed against the Boy Scouts of America. The plaintiffs claim that the organization did not do enough to protect them from abuse by leaders in the organization, and some claim that the organization actively covered up abuses, effectively letting it continue.

The nine lawsuits were filed by alleged adult survivors of child sex abuse in New York and Long Island, and assert that abuse occurred as early as the 1960s. New York Senator Brad Hoylman, who wrote the bill for the Child Victims Act, said that “New York is a hub for a lot of heinous activity because so many organizations are centered here” — particularly youth-based organizations and religious organizations.

Senator Hoylman goes on to note that these organizations fought against the Child Victims Act becoming law. The Child Victims Act expands the statute of limitations for abuse claims, meaning that more victims who suffered abuse as children can seek justice, says WFAA 8, an ABC affiliate. 

Unfortunately, the problem of alleged sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts of America may not be contained to New York state, says Newsweek. 

Reportedly, a similar lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania by the organization Abused in Scouting, which alleged that the organization was aware of around 350 scoutmasters or leaders who had been accused of abusing younger boys, but who had not been reported.

Abused in Scouting was formed in an effort to support adult survivors of child sex abuse affected by the alleged abuse epidemic in BSA. The organization’s lawyers claim that almost 800 men reported that they had been abused by Scout leaders when they were participants in the organizations.

Boy Scouts of America has also faced lawsuits hundreds of other lawsuits challenging the organization’s alleged mishandling of the sexual assault epidemic. Most recently, lawsuits have been filed in states including New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Washington State.

Fighting back against the claims that the organization did not respond appropriately to abuse within its ranks, the Boy Scouts of America’s National Youth Protection Director claims that the organization has “child-safety policies and procedures” in place that are “among the most advanced and comprehensive of any youth-serving organization today.”

One of these procedures has faced scrutiny. Newsweek says that the Boy Scouts of America maintains a database of sex offenders and victims. However, this database is only used internally, and is called the “ineligible volunteers” files, says Newsweek. Reportedly, the database records over 7,800 sex offenders and 12,254 victims, detailing abuse that took place between 1944 and 2016.

Critics say that this database is not at all an effort to protect children, but an effort to protect the organization’s reputation and financial interests.

These financial interests are indeed imperiled — the organization has considered filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as handling lawsuits and settlements over the sexual abuse size has taken quite the toll on the organization’s financial health, says Newsweek.

However, some experts worry that filing bankruptcy is actually a tactic used to give the organization an advantage in the courts, letting them limit their legal exposure to abuse claims, reports WFAA. 

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.