U.S. Boy Scouts file for bankruptcy after abuse scandal

WASHINGTON, DC, USA – The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, February 18, in what it said was an effort to safeguard compensation payouts for sexual abuse victims.

The organization has been accused of covering up generations of abuse inflicted on thousands of its young members and failing to do enough to root out pedophiles using the youth movement to prey on minors over its 110-year history.

Bankruptcy proceedings will help the Boy Scouts to “equitably compensate” victims through the establishment of a victims’ compensation trust and allow the organization to continue at a local level, a statement from the group said.

“The BSA cares deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologizes to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting,” chief executive Roger Mosby said in the statement.

The organization estimates liabilities of up to $1 billion, according to court filings lodged Tuesday. 

The national Boy Scouts council and its affiliated local councils together hold nearly $5 billion in assets, according to a Wall Street Journal report last month.

More than 12,000 members of the Boy Scouts had been sexually abused in the organization since 1944, victims’ lawyer Jeff Anderson said last year.

He also said files maintained by the Boy Scouts listed more than 7,800 alleged perpetrators of sexual abuse.

The existence of that documentation – known as the “perversion files” and listing scoutmasters or troop leaders accused of sexual abuse – was first revealed in a 2012 court case.

At the time the organization admitted its response to the scandal had been “plainly insufficient, inappropriate or wrong” said it had overhauled its procedures to protect members.

“The BSA today has some of the strongest, expert-informed youth protection policies found in any youth-serving organization, including mandatory youth protection training and background checks for all volunteers and staff,” the organization said Tuesday.

Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has around 2.2 million members between the ages of 5 and 21, the organization said.

Lawsuits against the group have multiplied in recent years, thanks in part to state legislative changes that have increased the statute of limitations for cases of sexual abuse against minors. – Rappler.com