Conference Offers Strategies for Protecting the Child From Sexual Abuse and Rooting Out the Predator

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Organizations that serve youth must overlap their defenses against sexual predators, say experts at a youth protection conference organized by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). “The first problem we have in the country is that most people most of the time won’t report abuse, no matter how clear the evidence is … even when they walk in on a child being sexually abused,” declared Victor Vieth, executive director of the National Child Protection Training Center at Minnesota’s Winona State University. “It’s not a close question,” he said, referring to decades of research.  “People tell researchers, ‘I don’t report because I’m not quite sure.’”

In 2012 alone, personnel in the Roman Catholic Church, the BSA and Penn State University, to name a few big organizations, have all been accused or convicted of complicity in ignoring child sexual abuse, in some cases, for decades. That’s part of what’s fueled new public attention to child sex abuse in places where kids go to worship, learn and play. As a response, the BSA organized the two-day Atlanta conference, where some 40 leaders of youth-serving organizations, other non-profits, and advocates gathered to hear from leading child abuse prevention researchers.

More Than 1,200 Boy Scout Files on Alleged Molesters Released Online

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Earlier today, some 1,247 Confidential Files on people banned from the Boy Scouts of America for alleged sexual misconduct with children from 1965-85 were put online in fulfillment of a court order in Oregon. Their release comes a week after a Seattle attorney released a database that describes nearly 2,000 abuse cases in the BSA from 1971-91. For complete coverage and analysis, visit Youth Today, featuring in-depth reporting from Patrick Boyle, the author of Scouts’ Honor: Sexual Abuse in America’s Most Trusted Institution and a former editor of Youth Today.

Boy Scout Confidential Files Reveal Patterns of Abuse

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The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has come under fire as its “Confidential Files” – a blacklist of adults banned from scouting for sexual abuse or molestation -- have come to light. The files, submitted as evidence in lawsuits under court order, show the BSA banned about 5,000 people from 1947 through 2004. Sexual abuse scandals within other youth-service oriented programs show similar patterns of behavior, including workers dismissing victims, hiding abuse from the public, putting too much faith in adult colleagues and organizations failing to educate staff about abuse. As the problem becomes more public because of scandals such as the Penn State and Catholic Church child sexual-abuse scandals, it has become more apparent that these patterns of behavior are similar among those who mishandle the problem. For the full story via Youth Today, click here.

Boy Scouts Clamp Down on Sex Abuse

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The Boy Scouts of America appear to be taking child molestation more seriously after settling a $20 million lawsuit, according to Youth Today. In the 1980s, former Assistant Scoutmaster Timur Dykes was convicted in Oregon of abusing Boy Scouts, including former Scout Kerry Lewis. Lewis filed suit against the BSA for failing to act on “the perversion files,” confidential files that red-flagged potential molesters in Scouting. Five other victims of Dykes have also filed lawsuits against the BSA. Lewis, the first to be awarded, received $1.4 million for negligence and $18.5 million in punitive damages in April.