The Boy Scouts of America are under fire for sexual abuse again.
What We Know:
- Lawyers for a group of over 800 individuals called “Abused in Scouting” have filed a lawsuit against the BSA for sexual abuse.
- Stewart Eisenberg, one of the attorneys, said during a press conference, “Three law firms have banded together to make it known to the public and those who were in scouting many years ago, that there is a crisis in scouting.”
- The group claims that they have found 350 new abusers since beginning their investigation in February. These predators were not identified in the BSA’s database or flagged by law enforcement.
- Tim Kosnoff, another “Abused in Scouting” lawyer, urged victims to come forward. He said, “We need you. We need you to come forward, we need you to join this movement otherwise the hidden predators will remain hidden.”
- This comes after another lawsuit was filed on Monday in Philidelphia by an individual known as “S.D.” He claims he was assaulted on various occasions for several years. The abuse began when he was 12. The lawsuit named Paul Antosh, 62, as the attacker.
- The suit also accuses the organization of knowingly allowing predators access to children. It states, “BSA knew for decades that sexual predators of boys had infiltrated scouting.”
- BSA said in a statement to CNBC, “We care deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We believe victims, we support them, we pay for counseling by a provider of their choice, and we encourage them to come forward.”
The organization appears to have a serious sex crime crisis. In 2010 the organization was ordered to pay $18.5 million in damages after they allowed ineligible volunteers to work with young boys.
