IMPORTANT DEADLINE: Boy Scouts of America Sexual Assault Claim Filing Deadline is Nov. 16. Fill out the form on this page to see if you qualify. 

The New York Post reports that up to 50,000 victims who say they were sexually abused while participating in Boy Scouts of America will file a lawsuit against the organization for Boy Scouts sexual abuse.

BSA reportedly already faces bankruptcy claims brought by 35,000 other alleged victims who initiated legal action after the organization filed for bankruptcy in February of this year.

But the deadline to file a claim is looming ever closer: victims have until Nov. 16 to file their claims under the terms of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy, intended to allow the BSA to reorganize and restructure its finances.

“The bar date marks an important milestone toward meeting those objectives and sets a clear timeline for victims to come forward and later seek compensation from the BSA’s proposed compensation trust,” said the Boy Scouts in a statement.

What Happens After the Claim Deadline?

The process for vetting and prioritizing claims after Nov. 16 has not yet been defined, according to plaintiffs’ lawyers, and it is unknown what the size of the compensation pool is going to look like and how exactly it will be funded.

Tens of thousands of Boy Scouts sex abuse claims are expected to make it in by that deadline, according to some plaintiffs’ lawyers. And the results could drastically change the more than a century old organization, both in terms of the financial cost of these claims and in terms of its reputation.

“When this bankruptcy is finally resolved, the Boy Scouts will not be the same Boy Scouts of America,” said a Los Angeles attorney who serves on a victims’ committee in the bankruptcy proceedings, speaking to the Los Angeles Times.

This is not the first major child sex abuse scandal to affect a major organization, of course—the Catholic church has been making headlines for years with regards to its history of priests abusing children and even cover-ups of that abuse. However, the claims in the Boy Scout bankruptcy may “dwarf anything we’ve seen in the Catholic Church,” another plaintiffs’ attorney told the Los Angeles Times.

“There are more claims in this bankruptcy than in all of the Catholic Church bankruptcies combined,” he said.

“The BSA cares deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologizes to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children,” BSA’s president and chief executive officer  reportedly said in a statement at the time the organization filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

“While we know nothing can undo the tragic abuse that victims suffered, we believe the Chapter 11 process — with the proposed Trust structure — will provide equitable compensation to all victims while maintaining the BSA’s important mission.”

According to the New York Post, the BSA has approximately $1.4 billion in assets as of its 2018 tax return; however, it is facing rising costs and fewer members.

According to CNN, the bankruptcy proceedings put hundreds of pending Boy Scouts lawsuits on hold. While victims will likely be compensated under the bankruptcy filing, the move will also spare the BSA costly jury trials in each of the cases.

Boy Scouts of America Not Safe for Children, Says Study

Indeed, a recent study conducted by child advocacy group Child USA concluded that the Boy Scout model is inherently unsafe for kids.

According to the Post, researchers concluded that under the BSA model, scouts are allowed to go off into the woods with strangers, no safe place to go, and no parents or police to turn to. These situations “creates repeated instances in which children are susceptible to abuse,” wrote the researchers.

“Scouts is mistaken in their belief that teaching a child to build a fire or earn a badge is equivalent to situational strength,” stated the researchers’ report.

The Post reports that Child USA researchers analyzed anonymous information from over 1,500 victims who said they suffered sexual abuse while in the BSA. The lead researcher told the New York Post that, contrary to most child sex abuse cases, abuse in the BSA appears to mostly be perpetrated by adults.

“[T]here’s something going on in this setting that makes it way more likely for adults to abuse a child than is typical,” Child USA researcher Carter Timon told New York Post reporters.

Researchers painted a tragic picture of abuse in the Boy Scouts. They reportedly found that the average age of the victim at the time of the alleged abuse was 12 years old. The vast majority of the abuse occurred while an adult Scout leader had one-on-one contact with a child, with more than 50% of the incidents taking place at a Scout camp. In addition, a whopping 71% of victims were reportedly abused on multiple occasions.

The analysis also revealed that many perpetrators were permitted to stay in the BSA despite reports of abuse — 64% of abusers reportedly stayed in Scouting, according to the researchers. Victims also reported that abusers groomed them more than half of the time with gifts and by gaining the trust of their families.

According to the New York Post, researchers also found that all victims suffered lifelong damages as a result of abuse or sexual assault while Scouts. Victims reported alcohol and drug problems, PTSD, trouble finding and keeping a job, and problems with intimate relationships.

Calling BSA “doomed to fail,” Child USA founder Marci Hamilton told The Post, “[the Scouts model is] highly problematic.”

“It’s so important that parents have the facts, and if they have the facts they’ll do the right thing,” Hamilton stressed to reporters.

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