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The Boy Scouts of the United States declare bankruptcy amid hundreds of lawsuits for sexual abuse

2020-02-18T09:24:06.394Z


The Boy Scouts of the United States declared bankruptcy, according to a court document filed in Delaware bankruptcy court early Tuesday.


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More cases of sexual abuse in the United States Boy Scouts (April 2019) 0:30

(CNN) - The Boy Scouts of the United States (BSA) filed for bankruptcy, according to a court document filed in Delaware bankruptcy court early Tuesday.

The youth organization, which celebrated its 110th anniversary on February 8, listed liabilities of between $ 100 million and $ 500 million, but $ 50,000 or less in assets.

The declaration of bankruptcy comes at a time when the organization faces hundreds of lawsuits for sexual abuse, thousands of alleged victims of abuse and a growing number of members. As a result of filing bankruptcy, all civil litigation against the organization is suspended.

Paul Mones, a Los Angeles-based lawyer representing "hundreds of victims of sexual abuse in individual lawsuits," called the organization's bankruptcy a "tragedy."

“These young people took an oath. They promised to be obedient, they promised to support the Scouts and they promised to be honorable. Many of them are extremely angry because that was not what happened to them and the Boy Scouts of the United States did not take a step forward as they should have done, ”said Mones.

Hundreds of lawsuits for sexual abuse

BSA faced hundreds of claims of alleged victims of sexual abuse across the country, all of which are now suspended due to bankruptcy.

Several of the lawsuits allege repeated caresses, exposure to pornography and forced anal or oral sex. In response, BSA said at the time that "they deeply care about all victims of child abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who has been harmed during their time as a scout." They added that they were "outraged that there have been times when people took advantage of our program to abuse innocent children."

“We believe in victims, we support them, we pay for the advice of a provider of their choice and we encourage them to come forward. It is the policy of the United States Boy Scouts that all incidents of suspected abuse be reported to the police, ”said the organization.

READ : The list of Boy Scout leaders accused of sexual abuse has almost 3,000 more names than previously known

Last April, the testimony presented before the court showed that the organization believed that more than 7,800 of its ex-leaders were involved in the sexual abuse of more than 12,000 children over the course of 72 years.

Mones, who was part of a legal team that won a $ 18.5 million verdict against BSA by former sexual abuse victim Kerry Lewis in 2010, said Monday that instead of having his day in court, the alleged Victims who had pending lawsuits now need to file claims in bankruptcy court.

Michael Pfau, a Seattle-based lawyer whose firm represents 300 alleged victims across the country, said the bankruptcy claims process will be decidedly different for those who suffer due to the alleged inaction of BSA.

“They will not have to make statements that involve their life story. Their lives will not be examined, but they lose their right to a jury trial. For many survivors of abuse, telling their story in a court of law and forcing organizations to claim their actions can be cathartic. That will not happen with bankruptcy, ”said Pfau.

Mones said that after the Lewis case his law office received hundreds of phone calls from adult men who claimed to have been victims of sexual abuse at BSA, but many states had statutes of limitation that reduced their legal options at that time. It was not until years later, when some state legislators enacted new laws that allowed victims to file unlimited claims about when the alleged abuse took place, that a flood of complaints against the youth organization was filed.

Pfau estimates that the number of claimants will outshine those of the Catholic Church.

LOOK : The map of allegations of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic Church in the world

“Catholic bankruptcies have a limited geographic scope. Here there will be plaintiffs from all 50 states and US territories, ”said Pfau. "We can talk about files and numbers, but in reality if you go back and realize the reach of human carnage, it's amazing."

New members, a new president and a new society

Reports of a bankruptcy filing began in December 2018, when The Wall Street Journal reported that BSA had hired the Sidley Austin LLP law firm for possible assistance in filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but there was no official filing until Monday.

In the 14 months since then, the youth organization has allowed boys who identify as girls to join the Scouts, a controversial measure that was seen by some, including the president of Girl Scouts of the United States, Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, as an attempt to increase your registration numbers.

In August, the organization sent about 120 allegations of abuse by Scout leaders to law enforcement for further investigation, saying it believes in the victims and that the youth organization is working to identify "alleged additional perpetrators."

The Boy Scouts of the United States also appointed a new president, a former Scout who promised to "advance the organization."

READ : Boy Scouts change their names to integrate girls (2018)

Last week, BSA announced a partnership with 1in6, a leading organization for male survivors of sexual abuse, to expand its services and better support the needs of the victims.

"We sincerely apologize to anyone who has been harmed in the Scout Movement," said BSA chief executive and president Roger Mosby, announcing the association. "In addition to implementing strong policies to prevent abuse, we are dedicated to supporting victims when and how they need it."

However, for the alleged victims, the bankruptcy declaration of the organization may represent another institution that did not protect them and is avoiding taking responsibility for the abuse that occurred under their supervision.

"We need to make sure we receive some accountability and if (the bankruptcy court) is how we should do it, then so be it," Pfau said.

Sara Sidner of CNN contributed to this report.

Boy scouts

Source: cnnespanol

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