Legal news for personal injury attorneys. A civil lawsuit claims that files have been hidden that detail sexual abuse.
Personal injury lawyer alert- Boy Scouts of America is facing a civil lawsuit, which accuses troop leaders and volunteers of sexual abuse.
Portland, OR—A civil suit is trying to uncover files that have been kept secret for decades that reveal hundreds of claims of child abuse by troop leaders of the Boy Scouts of America. The suit is trying to show that the organization tried to conceal the abuse on a national level, as reported by The New York Times.
Lawyers representing the Boy Scouts of America are trying to take action against the disclosure of the files, even after they have acknowledge that abuse has taken place. A former Boy Scout who was abused by his troop leader in Oregon in the early 1980s, filed the suit. His lawsuit is seeking $4 million is damages, stemming from his abuse that occurred when he was 12-years-old. The former scout leader who abused the plaintiff, Timur Dykes, is a convicted pedophile and has admitted to the accusations.
For over two decades scout leaders across the country have been found guilty of sexual abuse crimes. The lawsuit is attempting to make a broader case, which would allege the Boy Scouts of America was aware of the abuse across the U.S., and often did nothing to prevent it from happening again. About 1,000 individual files from 1965 to 1984 that contain abuse accusations have been kept secret by the organization. The files also revealed that national and regional scout leaders permitted troop leaders and volunteers to continue to work with the boys even after complaints of abuse were reported. Sometimes the troop leaders and volunteers continued to work with the kids after they have been convicted of sexual abuse. The files also indicate that the abuse had begun in the 1920s.
A jury trial will be conducted in Multnomah County Circuit Court. According to Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org, The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest youth organizations in the U.S., with more than four million youth members. Their goal is to train youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance.
Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for personal injury lawyers.
