The Boys Scouts of America have filed for bankruptcy protection as it tries to prepare a compensation plan for thousands of claims of sex abuse. A group of survivors and lawyers, brought together by the Abused in Scouting group, is leading the charge against the organization.
The AP reports: “Scores of lawyers are seeking settlements on behalf of several thousand men who say they were molested as scouts by scoutmasters or other leaders decades ago but are only now eligible to sue because of recent changes in their states’ statute-of-limitations laws.”
The NYT adds: “Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts have long maintained internal files at their headquarters in Texas detailing decades of allegations involving nearly 8,000 “perpetrators,” according to an expert hired by the organization. Lawyers have said in recent months that former scouts have come forward to identify hundreds of other abusers not included in those files. The bankruptcy filing, in Delaware, is expected to disrupt continuing litigation and establish a deadline for when former scouts can pursue claims.”
