A lawsuit filed on behalf of Pennsylvania man details years of “grievous, unspeakable acts of sexual abuse” at the hands of an assistant Boy Scout leader. Attorneys say this could be the first of hundreds of cases filed against the Boy Scouts of America.
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) August 6, 2019
https://t.co/uROkIRX5Cb
‘To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight…’
I was never a scout growing up, but am currently an Assistant Scoutmaster and merit badge counselor, and very impressed with the Scouting program the BSA provides — particularly the training requirements, including avoiding situations that could even give the appearance of impropriety and being on the lookout for and reporting any suspicious activity of other adults. A zero-tolerance culture is promoted by the national organization and is strictly followed in our region, and that includes reporting to civil authorities not just reporting “up the chain” and letting the BSA decide what to report. The practices employed by the BSA should be emulated by more organizations.
We know for a fact that the BSA along with other youth organizations and churches looked the other way for far too long — but I’m pretty confident that the BSA is doing its part to protect our children and has been for at least 15 years. What some men have gone through is horrible, and the people in the BSA who did those unspeakable acts and those who looked the other way should rightly be crucified. But I hope the organization is not bankrupted by legal fees and damage awards because they are doing wonderful work with young people (boys and girls — progress!) today.
The LDS church looked the other way for a long time!