Boy Scouts helped alleged molesters cover tracks, files show

[Basementdweller]

I am a member of the organization...

 

While I believe in the intended stated mission, I believe that the organization got lost somewhere along the way....

 

Unlike seattle and many others I will not overlook the flaws...It is run by human volunteers.....

 

Far as the cover up 30 years ago.....they should still be held accountable for their actions.... This isn't shop lifting candy bars from the campus news stand.....this has deeper impact on folks lives.....

 

[Sentinel947]

Discussion of this topic does nothing productive. Merlyn, I can cite at least 3 cases of Teachers having sex or molesting students for years in local High Schools. and lets not forget Jerry Sandusky at good ole Penn State.

 

The BSA has become the model program for Youth Protection in the intervening years. Sports leagues, Band programs, youth groups all copy our Youth Protection Model.

 

So while these past cases are very sad, and the cover ups are disgraceful, our discussion of them in an internet forum changes nothing. The only way to stop things like this is to be an active volunteer, which Merlyn, you are not.

 

Let the do it's thing, and hopefully these sickos will be incarcerated, the victims compensated and the BSA can get back to focusing on molding young men.

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

Here's a clue, people; Brad Allen isn't from 30 years ago. Oh, but it must be my fault somehow.

[Beavah]

Yah, hmmmm...

 

It would be interestin' to spend some time with da whole set of files. What we have here is a statement by a biased source that in about a third of da cases in the files there were perhaps unfortunate decisions by parents and scout leaders according to modern standards, though perhaps not by the norms of the time. And in about 6-7% of da cases, there were just bad choices.

 

Then we have 5 cases out of da 1,600 that are selected for highlighting, no doubt because they are the worst of the set.

 

I don't think there's any debate that those 5 cases fill every scouter here with righteous fury. Da case where the camp turned the lad over for counseling and then followed da advice of the Catholic chaplain who also happened to be a child molester was particularly beyond da pale. Forget jail time, there is perhaps room for more biblical punishments. "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matthew 18:6). Yah, sign me up to practice my knots by tyin' millstones around necks. To my mind, even that New Testament punishment seems a bit too gentle, and I find myself longin' for a more wrathful and vengeful deity.

 

Still, that's 5 cases out of many, many millions of adult volunteers durin' the time period. We're in da realm of getting hit by lightning is more likely. No organization, no system, no policy anywhere can stop all of these things. Da only difference here is that the BSA as a national organization kept records. Don't think for a minute that other youth groups, public schools, churches, etc. were any better. If we had da records, we'd no doubt find that a number of newspaper reporters and especially photographers were bad people too.

 

That's not an excuse. Da millstone rule still applies. But it's perhaps a caution about judgin' any organization by da acts of a few of its members many decades ago.

 

 

Beavah

 

[Eagle732]

I'll bet that at least some on the list were falsely accused.

We might want to remember that sometimes accusations are not true and can absolutely ruin someone life.

Take a few moments to read this link:

http://educationwonk.blogspot.com/2005/01/accused-of-hurting-children-educators.html

 

I know this person, he lived in my neighborhood and we belonged to the same volunteer fire company. He is a good guy.

 

 

(This message has been edited by Eagle732)

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

"da acts of a few of its members many decades ago."

 

You know, I could've affirmed I wrote just before this message something about Brad Allen NOT being from 30 years ago, and before that, the fact that he was the exec for the Seattle council, and not just some random member. Oh, I did.

 

"I'll bet that at least some on the list were falsely accused.

We might want to remember that sometimes accusations are not true and can absolutely ruin someone life."

 

Yeah, that's why it's important to get the legal system involved instead of just having amateurs make arbitrary judgements.

[Eagle732]

There were no amateurs making judgements in the case I sited.

[Abel Magwitch]

Isn't it time for corporate BSA to come clean so it can re-establish its moral integrity instead of working hard to cover things up?

[Tampa Turtle]

I think BSA needs to come clean, turn over what they got, and take the hit. We gotta move on from this one.

[Beavah]

 

Yeah, that's why it's important to get the legal system involved instead of just having amateurs make arbitrary judgements.

 

Yah, because da "professionals" in the legal system are so much better at it, eh?

 

Yeh do remember from da previous LATimes report that most of da molesters who had molested again had in fact been introduced to the legal system. Parents opted not to press charges, prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence or offered plea deals, probation officers lost track of their charges. With da evidence available at the time, I expect da result would have been the same for many of the cases included in this report.

 

It was interestin' to me that one of da "bad" cases mentioned in this report was apparently of a physician, where the council had reported, da parents refused to press charges, the guy apparently got counseling and never molested again. The LA_Times was upset because a newspaper publisher on the board opted not to report it as a news story, I guess. Da BSA should apparently require its board members to report allegations to the news media.

 

The files in question dated from 1970 to 1991, Merlyn. So da most recent was 20 years ago.

 

Beavah

 

[SeattlePioneer]

Abel Magwitch wants to make this issue the problem of BSA and Scouting. That's an easy and futile way to ignore a tough problem that has EVIL PEOPLE as the culprits, not Scouting.

 

And as Beavah has tried to illustrate, going after such people is no easy task, even for the cops.

 

FAR more difficult for BSA to deal with sly, stealthy people. If BSA attacks someone's reputation, you should EXPECT that families and children will refuse to testify to things they say happened, and you should EXPECT to be sued and pay huge damages if you can't prove in court what you claim happened.

 

By and large, I suspect that BSA should be commended for trying to deal with this issue for many decades as best as possible. It's hardly surprising that some stealthy and devious and EVIL characters would not be deterred by what BSA has been able to do.

 

After all --- the prisons are filled with evil lawbreakers. Most of them will be convicted again when they get out. I think BSA has made a good effort to deal with the problem over the decades, and very likely current efforts are better ---I hope.

 

 

 

 

[skeptic]

So, here we have another segment in the "let's make sure BSA stays in the negative spotlight" series. But of course there is not any planning in the publication timing, just a coincidence that the previous uproar had receded. While not being on the "media is biased to the left" platform, I am beginning to wonder about their bias in regard to BSA. Why are they not going for public record disclosure from ALL legal or police filings from this period that were never prosecuted or quietly pleaded out? How about reviewing public school records of reports to principals or district personnel? How about digging into Big Brothers, GS or YMCA? Oh, that's right, they have bent to the PC crowd.

 

Maybe someone should re-review these same files and see how much data that might not show poor decision making by the BSA is NOT reported; or footnotes about non cooperation of families or authorities? This pulling out the absolutely worst pieces of the files, while not showing the complete file, is simply biased reporting.

 

Nobody has ever claimed mistakes, and on occasion, simply horribly wrong decisions were made; but this witch hunt does no one much good except the lawyers and a few victims that will get part of a settlement as they dredge up stuff to open old emotional trauma and possibly family problems.

 

Still, it seems time for BSA to bring them all out, unless there are actual legal declarations to stop them being shared, and to reinforce what changes have been instituted in the past couple of decades to mitigate these kinds of things. They may very well already be planning for how to handle this, as it is stated the doubling of the CO charter cost is primarily to cover "insurance" costs. The sooner they face the music, so to speak, the sooner this issue will become too little fodder for the haters of BSA. Unfortunately, they will simply find something else with which to denigrate the program, as that is their apparent goal.

 

In the mean time, we in the real program need to continue to try and do it right, and makes "good" decisions and follow up to assure something was done if necessary.

 

 

 

 

[Twocubdad]

Someone should have taken the bullet and burned the files. Didn't anyone pay attention during Watergate?

 

I really wonder what's the point? Are there people who should be prosecuted? If so, let's bring on the indictments. Is there any light here or just smoke? Are there CURRENT policies and procedures which need to be changed? If so, let's hear them.

 

I have to say the fatigue factor is really starting to set in with me on all these political issues.

 

 

[Horizon]

skeptic:

 

The LA Times has ALSO gone after the public schools as well. They don't cut any slack to sacred cows on the Left, for example:

 

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/06/local/me-teachers6

 

Our reaction should NOT be to attack the messengers. We, as an organization, should have followed the lead of the Scouts in Canada and started our own investigation into our old files YEARS ago. We should have allowed for a 3rd party audit, instead of being caught by the slow release of files due to legal requirements.

 

In business school, we teach how to deal with a crisis. The Jack-in-theBox e coli outbreak is studied. They delayed talking for 2 days (bad), but then they embraced the problem changed their game plan, and gave daily updates on what they were doing. They constantly gave the media more information, instead of trying to hide.

 

The BSA is still trying to hide, and is still not attacking this problem head-on. Yes, the worst of this is in the past - tell that to an adult STILL dealing with the scars from being molested. We have to get in front of this, instead of being stuck reacting.

 

Don't attack the LA Times or Merlyn for pointing out that we used to cover up for molestors - and that there are some out there that might STILL be covering up. The LA Times took some of our own files and made a report. If you don't like it, tell the BSA to have a responsible, respected 3rd party make their OWN report. Show how much we shut down. Inundate the marketplace with information AND statements on what we do differently today.

[Fehler]

Rename the files a "registry". Claim that the BSA was decades ahead of current legislation in creating a sex offender registry, which is now universally accepted as a "good thing". Kudos abound!