Boy Scouts of America seeks bankruptcy due to Sex-Abuse Claims

The Boy Scouts of America were a organization for young boys to explore the wilderness with a leader. It was founded in 1910, based in Irving, Texas. Thousands of people have come forward with allegations that they were abused sexually and physically as a scout. The Scouts kept internal records of assaults that were dated back to the 1920s. In 2012 those records were released to the public, and it wasn’t until last year when a lawyer was hired to analyze the lists. Victims came forward, and for some, the abuse lasted for years under higher officials, some scouts were even molested and assaulted. The Association has filed for bankruptcy and apologized for what went on under their control.

In a “1935 article in The New York Times, the organization described having files on hundreds of people who had been scout leaders but had been labeled ‘degenerates.” The word Degenerate means to have lost physical or mental qualities that are considered normal. So the scouts that weren’t stable are in charge of young boys and nearly anything could happen when they are alone. Many boys were sexually assaulted, physically abused, etc.

A New York Times article claims that “A group acknowledged that, decades before, some volunteers that had been accused of abuse had been allowed to return.” After many years the scouts began to run more and more background checks and now scouting is safer than ever before. Just because scouting is now safe, it doesn’t mean it is in the clearing, people have come forward and claimed to have been abused while a scout. So the Boy Scouts of America is filing for bankruptcy because they knew lots of people would want to sue the organization for its ability to look the other way when a scout has claimed abuse.