Unfortunately it DOES happen anywhere

[Adam S]

ASM from another Troop in my town just got arrested.

http://parsippany.patch.com/articles/boy-scout-leader-charged-with-exposing-boy-to-child-pornography

 

I feel horrible for his victim and hope he gets all the help he needs. It bothers me that people like this slip through but then a background check cannot see the future. I hope the troop can weather this storm as they are a decent unit!

 

I am concerned for the families in my Troop and Pack as there will be the usual panic. Has anyone directly dealt with such an issue? How best to reassure them?

 

Thanks,

Adam

 

[Eagle732]

Very sad. I don't know how you prevent something like this.

The newspaper didn't have much trouble finding background info on the guy.

[Basementdweller]

Creeps are every where. Vigilance is the only safety. I always get a kick how many times you hear on the news, "that never happens around here". Everything happens everywhere people.

 

 

To comfort the troop Review the Youth Protection video with the families.

 

 

 

[Scoutfish]

That's the kicker isn't it?

 

There's no way to know who will do this if they haven't already been caught.

 

No doubt the guy has felt this way a while, but this may be the first time he acted on it, so there wouldn't be any previous incidents or records to check.

 

But now, look at what our organazation is: A youth focused group that needs leaders who use money to work with kids .

 

Scouting is a prime target for child predators, imbezellers, and power hungry " do it my way" leaders.

 

 

Motor heads hang out at car shows and race tracks. Muscle heads hang out at the gym or beach. Tech geeks hang out at the computer store or internet cafe. Metal heads are at the local guitar store or somebody's garage.

 

So, where do the child predators want to hang out? Lots of choices I am sure, but BSA is among them.

[OldGreyEagle]

I don't know if this plays into the other thread, but does anybody remember what Willie SUtton said? back when Bank Robbers were national figures?

 

When asked why Wille robbed banks, he suppsoedly replied, "Because that's where the money is"

 

One could easily paraphase that to sex abuse in children. Why are there sexual predators in the BSA? Because thats where the boys are. It works for any area.

 

Vigillance is the only option (WHich I guess doesnt make it such an option, does it?) that we have

[kari_cardi]

I can't find anything that says the boy was a scout, though it's implied, of course.

 

Adam, I would assure parents that what happened fell outside the guidelines that BSA has for adult/scout interactions, and that following YPT protects everyone. And then review YPT either in written form, as video, or online with all the parents. Then be vigilant about following the guidelines. And reassure parents that troop activities are open to parents at any time.

 

An acquaintance just found out a few weeks ago that the family's adopted grandfather was sexually abusing her three young children. Well-respected community leader, yadda, yadda. It's so disheartening to think that people we trust are predators, it makes it hard to trust at all.

[Eamonn]

Things would be a lot easier if the guys and girls who were going to do bad things wore a big sign that told everyone what they were going to do.

If the guys who were going to try and blow up airplanes wore signs saying "I'm going to blow up planes." We could all keep our shoes on when we travel by air.

Big stores like Wal-Mart could save millions knowing who the shoplifters were.

I don't ever expect it will happen.

Background checks and the like can help keep people who have a history of this sort of thing from being allowed in.

But as we have seen with all the goings on at Penn State, not only do people that are deemed un-lightly to be perverts get in but some get away with it for a very long time.

While us being aware of who is around and who is doing what?

The best we can hope for is that we do everything possible to train the youth in our care how to keep themselves safe.

It's never going to be fool-proof. These perverts pick and choose their victims and look for the opportunity to pounce.

Here once they get caught some of them have the very big misfortune of having to spend a lot of quality time with me in the "Big House".

Ea.

 

[nldscout]

Your right in you just never know who they are until they have been caught.

In the month of December I had to deal with a 39yr old, who by the way was SM and Crew Leader. He pled to having sex by force with his 15 yr old niece. A 78 yr old man who touched his 14 yr old grandson, 2 21yr old young men who interacted with 14 yr olds and a man who raped his wife.

 

You just don't know, in the case of the 39 yr old everyone knew him and swore he was a great guy. When I first arrigned him some months I had a hard time accepting it too.