New York - Lawyers for dozens of sexually abused children
on Tuesday released the names of 130 Boy Scout leaders in New York
who have been accused of molesting boys in their care.
Detailing decades of unchecked abuse, with comparisons to the
Catholic Church pedophile priest scandal, the attorneys said they
plan to file multiple lawsuits against the nonprofit Boy Scouts of
America organization, which, according to its website, prides itself
in "youth protection" training.
At a Manhattan news conference, the lawyers said the 130 scout
leaders from New York City and the Hudson Valley [in the state New
York] area are among 7 000 Boy Scout leaders across the country.
The announcement was made in conjunction with lawyers in New Jersey
who detailed similar Boy Scout abuse at a news conference in Newark.
Lawyers there named another 50 alleged pedophile Boy Scout leaders.
"The alarming thing about this is not just the numbers," said Jeff
Anderson, whose Manhattan law firm specializes in child sexual abuse
cases. "The fact is that the Boy Scouts of America has never actually
released these names in any form that can be known to the public.
They may have removed them from scouting, they may have kept them in
their perversion file but they never alerted the community."
Anderson called it a system of denial and cover-ups. He claims the
Boy Scouts have files on child abusers within their ranks dating back
to the 1940s.
"This is a real peril," Anderson said. "It's a systematic problem.
These are perversion files and secrets held by the Boy Scouts of
America."
The Boy Scouts of America responded to the claims in a statement,
saying they "care deeply about all victims of child sex 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," the organization said.
"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."
Anderson said victims will be able to seek justice under New York's
new Child Victims Act.
Speedskater Bridie Farrell, a survivor of abuse and co-founder of NY
Loves Kids, an organization that aims to create a safer New York by
speaking out about child sexual abuse, was also present at the press
conference.
She was abused by an adult speedskating teammate when she was 15.
"This is an institution we trust our children with," she said. "This
is an institution that held a file of known perpetrators which it
didn't disclose to the authorities, which allowed these people to go
on and coach soccer teams, allow them to go on and be teachers.
"With the passage of the Child's Victim Act, myself and many, many
survivor across New York state and the country finally have the
opportunity to come forward and voice what happened to us and speak
our truth and have an element of accountability for the abusers, and
also more importantly have systematic change and have it be safer for
the next child down the line whether that's in the Boy Scouts or the
speedskating community," she said.