By Michael V. Cusenza
The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the national organization announced Tuesday.
The move, according to the BSA, will help the group compensate boys who were “harmed” during their time in Scouting and create a Compensation Trust that would provide equitable restitution to victims.
The BSA noted that local Scouting programs, including unit meetings and activities, council events, and service projects, will continue throughout this process “and for many years to come.” The BSA fully intends to maintain its commitments to its members, families, volunteer leaders, employees, retirees, donors and alumni to the fullest extent permitted by bankruptcy laws. The organization has also pledged to pay its vendors and partners for all goods and services delivered from today forward.
“The BSA cares deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologizes to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children,” BSA President and CEO Roger Mosby said. “While we know nothing can undo the tragic abuse that victims suffered, we believe the Chapter 11 process—with the proposed trust structure—will provide equitable compensation to all victims while maintaining the BSA’s important mission.”
In April 2019, The Forum reported that at least six leaders of Queens Boy Scout units are among the 130 who worked in New York and were named in BSA “Perversion Files” as having allegations of sexually abusing minors, according to the law firm that published the list.
Jeff Anderson & Associates PA indicated that Michael Boresch (Troop 29); Cal Diva (Troop 103, Troop 135); Samuel L. Fried (District 8644); Robert Methvin (Explorer 48); John E. Montgomery (Troop 53); and Hans Pederson (Troop 389) are named on the Empire State list. They led Boy Scout units in Rockaway Beach, Long Island City, Jackson Heights, Flushing, and Bellerose.
The rollout was part of the Anderson firm’s revelation that the BSA has documented that 7,819 adult leaders were accused of sexually abusing 12,254 victims across the country from 1944-2016, according to an expert who testified in a child sexual abuse trial in January 2019.
According to Anderson & Associates, since approximately 1920, BSA has maintained these files, also known as “Perversion Files,” internally to document individuals whose Boy Scout registrations were revoked because of allegations of child sexual abuse.
On Tuesday, some insisted that the BSA is using the bankruptcy reorganization to keep perpetrator names and documents secret.
“This bankruptcy is not about finances,” sex-abuse survivor Scott Coats said. “This bankruptcy is about the reputation of the Boy Scouts of America and about silencing victims and keeping the truth away from the eyes of the public.”
Jeff Anderson currently represents hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts across the country, including dozens of cases in New York, New Jersey, and California.
“It’s important that survivors know they still have a voice and can still bring a claim for the harm they suffered,” he said. “It’s time for anyone abused as a child in the Scouts to come forward.”
File Photo
