Hundreds of former Boy Scouts reveal new sexual abuse claims, exposing 150 alleged pedophiles

[Eugene]

Source: USA Today

Hundreds of former Boy Scouts reveal new sexual abuse claims, exposing 150 alleged pedophiles

Cara Kelly, USA TODAY Published 5:00 a.m. ET April 24, 2019 | Updated 10:54 a.m. ET April 24, 201

More than 200 individuals have come forward with new allegations of sexual abuse by members of the Boy Scouts of America in recent weeks as a trio of law firms seek to uncover unidentified child abusers.

A few of the victims are young, still underage or in their 20s, but many have held their secrets close for decades.

"Nobody would have listened to me," said James Kretschmer, 56, who says a leader groped him at a Boy Scouts camp when he was in middle school. "The problem is, then you think, ‘Is it something I did? What was I doing, was it my fault? If I hadn’t done whatever, he wouldn’t have done that.’ It took me years and years to realize it wasn’t that little child’s fault. It was the adult who had control."

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Advised by Tim Kosnoff, an attorney who has litigated more than a thousand cases of sexual misconduct against organizations such as the Scouts and the Mormon church, the group of attorneys said it has identified 150 alleged pedophiles never before publicly accused.

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Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/04/24/boy-scouts-face-hundreds-new-sexual-abuse-claims/3547991002/

[The Genealogist]

1. Makes me physically ill. Sick to my stomach.

Boy Scouts was mandatory in my household, and I was required by my father to be a member, from 3rd grade til just after I started 10th grade. I despised it. Luckily I was never abused, but it makes me ill to think others were.

[llmart]

3. Boy Scouts seemed to me to always be associated with a church.

Especially the Catholic church. Parents would push for their sons to join Boy Scouts. The combination of authoritarian parents, authoritarian church leaders (priests) and authoritarian organizations like the Boy Scouts could be pretty destructive to young boys. Add to that mix enrolling them in Catholic schools and you end up with a complete brainwashing.

When my son was growing up he never showed any interest in Boy Scouts and I actually discouraged it. He wanted to play baseball instead. That I encouraged.

[The Genealogist]

4. Most of the troops I know of were church sponsored

One I was in was at a Methodist hurch, the other at a Cattholic church. The leaders of the secomd one I was at had two scout masters who were gung-ho authoritarian types, smug and self-righteous. If ghey are still around they are the type who would buy those Jim Baaker food buckets and other such magic beans. I got sick of them fast. I hated the whole organization.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Just the tip of a very ugly

story to come. If you have ever lived in Utah,you most likely heard at least one of these stories if you were not one of the 10% club.