The Boy Scouts of America has been part of the lives of more than 130 million American youth over the last century, but unfortunately, some may have been harmed along the way.

If you or someone you love has suffered from Boy Scout sexual abuse during your time with the Boy Scouts, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation.

What Are Boy Scouts?

The Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910, and currently includes approximately 2.2 million youth members between the ages of 5 and 21. The organization runs largely on volunteer efforts through its local councils, with about 800,000 adult volunteers.

The Boy Scouts is meant to provide both practical knowledge (such as through camping and other outdoor activities) as well as character-building enrichment (such as responsible citizenship activities and more).

The Scout Motto is probably its most well-known phrase: “Be prepared.” The Scout Mission, according to the organization’s website, is ostensibly to “prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law,” which in turn espouse values like helping others, being trustworthy and loyal, and keeping morally straight.

Despite the organization’s long history and legacy, and in direct contradiction with the Scout Mission, a growing number of former Boy Scout volunteers are being hit with disturbing allegations of child sexual abuse during their time volunteering with the Boy Scouts.

What Boy Scouts Lawsuits Have Been Filed?

Thousands of former Scouts have come forward with lawsuits against the venerated organization, alleging that it failed to protect them from abuse during their time as Scouts. Claims made by these survivors have cited a range of abuses, including fondling, assault, and rape.

In one recent Boy Scouts lawsuit, former Scout Scott Powell, now 58, alleges that he suffered sexual abuse at the hands of his scoutmaster within the Boy Scouts for years, starting when he was about 11 years old. The former scoutmaster, John Craig Cowan, worked as a physician’s assistant at the time, back in the early 1970s, and would molest the boy but tell him it was medical treatment, Powell claimed.

To make matters worse, Cowan was friends (but not romantically involved with) Powell’s recently-divorced mother, and convinced her that moving in with him and sharing a house would save money, thereby exposing Powell even further to Cowan’s abuse, Powell said.

Powell is one of 111 Nevada residents who have filed a Boy Scouts lawsuit against the organization, claiming they were aware of the abuse yet failed to stop it.

“It’s an organization supposedly to help kids,” Powell said. “Why wasn’t there some kind of oversight of the scoutmasters? Clearly, there was not enough supervision of the adults.”

While the Boy Scouts maintain that their threshold for removing volunteers from Scouting is very low, because their priority is to protect kids, lawyers for the victims argue that the BSA knew about the abuse. According to the Boy Scout sexual abuse lawsuit, the organization kept so-called “perversion files” on tens of thousands of staffers and volunteers, without turning these records over to authorities or even warning families, lawyers for the victims claimed.

Another plaintiff in the Boy Scouts lawsuit, Donavan Kinser, now 48, claims that he was 8 years old when a scoutmaster molested him at a scout jamboree. He never attended another jamboree and eventually left scouting altogether.

Kinser and Powell are among more than 100 to join the Boy Scout sexual abuse lawsuit filed by Nevada residents or those who claim to have been abused in the state.

In the face of an onslaught of litigation sparked by several states extending their statutes of limitations for child sex abuse claims, the Boy Scouts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy—and victims’ advocates claim that the bankruptcy is an attempt to limit the group’s liability.

One of the issues currently at hand is the role of local councils in the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and in the rising tide of sexual abuse litigation.

What Damages Can Survivors Receive?

Through a Boy Scout sexual abuse lawsuit, survivors of child sex abuse can claim a number of damages, ranging from physical to emotional and mental. Survivors of this kind of abuse may suffer from chronic pain, reproductive health complications, hampered sexual function, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and more. Unfortunately, these effects can last for years or even a lifetime.

Should You File a Boy Scouts Lawsuit?

If you or someone you love has suffered from abuse by someone within the Boy Scouts of America organization, even if that abuse took place years or even decades ago, you may be able to file a Boy Scouts lawsuit and pursue compensation. Of course, litigation cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by abuse, but it can at least help to provide some compensation, as well as hold the organization responsible for its actions and inactions that allowed the abuse to take place.

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