San Antonio Scout leader wrongfully accused of sexual abuse gets his day in court, reinstated in BSA

[RememberSchiff]

McCalister, 79, had been a scoutmaster for about 45 years. More than 240 scouts with Troop 285 in North-Central San Antonio achieved the rank of Eagle Scout during his tenure. He spearheaded fundraising for a scout lodge that now bears his name on the campus of Coker United Methodist Church on the North Side.

He fought the allegation made by an anonymous accuser, who said the abuse occurred in the early 1990s. One day shy of the year anniversary of receiving the letter, McCalister sued the Boy Scouts of America, Alamo Area Council Inc. and his accuser — only known as John Doe — for defamation. 

On Jan. 12, McCalister's nearly two-year legal battle ended when state District Judge Marisa Flores granted his request for partial summary judgment, declaring in a written order that he is "hereby completely and fully exonerated of any allegations of abuse by John Doe." She was told the accuser had recanted.

That same day, McCalister received another letter — this one welcoming him back to the Scouts. Boy Scouts of America CEO and President Roger Krone, who leads the National Council based in Irving, told McCalister that he had been in reinstated as a volunteer leader.

"The BSA regrets the anguish you endured from this process and these procedures, which are designed to make the safety of children in our Scouting programs the BSA's top priority," BSA President and CEO Roger Krone said in his letter.

 

More details at source:

https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/scout-leader-exonerated-18615122.php

Edited January 24 by RememberSchiff

[skeptic]

Interesting that the news article noted the likelihood of a large percentage of false claims having been generated in this mess.  It is sad that this Scouter that mentored so many over such a period was put through this.  I would like to perhaps hear how the false accusation came about, since the Joh Doe recanted under oath.  Why did he do it?  I suspect it has some connection to less than honest legal birds I so distain.  

So, we have a man falsely accused who is now in his own way a "survivor"?  How many more may appear?  The pendulum may swing some more. 

While the Survivors that are real need to be acknowledged, so too should those accused wrongly recognized and publicly exonerated.  

[Prime00]

I strongly suspect there are many others that are innocent. The unfortunate thing is that it costs a tremendous amount of money to pursue any kind of lawsuit against anyone. Most people simply do not have the money. The scout program is completely uninterested in serving justice. They figure it is quicker to just throw out everyone and walk away. 

I know of another situation where the scout executive revoked membership of a person after a shoddy investigation. The same executive has said to multiple people that he has no evidence to support various claims but still revoked the membership of the person. Same executive committed some criminal activity to get the person out but continues to serve. Bad deal all around. 

[Cburkhardt]

Any Scouter who believes he/she is the victim of a false allegation should immediately have their personal attorney request the chartered organization to conduct a thorough investigation of the matter.   This is the single best way for a Scouter to obtain a finding of facts that can be used to mitigate the impacts of an unjust accusation.   This can be fast and inexpensive -- and the results can be used to inform BSA and legal proceedings. 

[Prime00]

The Charter Representative was even kept in the dark on this whole deal. The Council Executive revoked the membership of the person and then informed the Charter Representative what he did. Gave vague details and then changed them later.

The same Executive refuses to provide any details even to the person that was removed. Just vague, generalized charges with no specific information. The information he has provided does not even match up to the information provided to the Charter Representative and Charter Organization. 

Real sketchy deal all around. 

[Eagle94-A1]

3 hours ago, Cburkhardt said:

Any Scouter who believes he/she is the victim of a false allegation should immediately have their personal attorney request the chartered organization to conduct a thorough investigation of the matter.   This is the single best way for a Scouter to obtain a finding of facts that can be used to mitigate the impacts of an unjust accusation.   This can be fast and inexpensive -- and the results can be used to inform BSA and legal proceedings. 

Most Scouters I know do not have a personal attorney, nor can they afford one. As for the CO, most I have encountered are not active. And if they are active, councils tend to give them very little info on the situation in my experience. Heck when I was a DE, the SE kept info from me, and when I called him to tell him something about a situation, was told , " Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you....." 

And another organization's investigation won't mean squat to BSA. I knew someone falsely accused of sexual assault. There was a criminal investigation, and the evidence they found supported my friend. Even though she was cleared, she was still banned by the BSA.

[BetterWithCheddar]

16 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Most Scouters I know do not have a personal attorney, nor can they afford one.

This was my first thought. My wife and I see a local attorney every few years to revise our will and POA docs. We do OK professionally, but I'm not sure how many couples our age (~40) could afford basic legal services, much less be able to vigorously defend their reputations in court.

A prominent venture capitalist once remarked (I'm paraphrasing): "Single digit millionaires don't have access to the legal system." He funded Hulk Hogan's successful civil suit against a tabloid magazine because he and Hulk Hogan (a single digit millionaire) shared a common enemy in the tabloid.

Hulk Hogan, whose net worth had been reduced to "only" a few million after a divorce and other legal issues, could not afford to sue a tabloid without the backing of a billionaire who also had an axe to grind against the same tabloid. Good luck, Mr. Falsely-Accused Scouter.

Edited November 23 by BetterWithCheddar

[BetterWithCheddar]

The fact that there is virtually no recourse for a falsely accused Scouter contributes to the BSA's current doom loop.

A person could:

• A: Accept the conclusions, resign, and hope that's the end of it (it might not be).
• B: Appeal to the BSA's kangaroo court to clear their good name (with limited success and all while calling more attention to the situation).
• C; Mount a vigorous (and expensive) legal defense with a slightly higher probability of success (again, while calling more attention to the situation).

I'm glad to be a leader as long as my son and his friends are having fun; however, once he's done, I can't see myself continuing to support the program in any way that involves direct contact with youth. For every bad actor, there is probably an equal number of awful families who wouldn't hesitate to jeopardize a volunteer's reputation over a perceived slight. Granted, I believe the vast majority of people in this world are good and decent ... but it only takes one. 

Edited November 24 by BetterWithCheddar

[InquisitiveScouter]

2 hours ago, BetterWithCheddar said:

The fact that there is virtually no recourse for a falsely accused Scouter contributes to the BSA's current doom loop.

A person could:

• A: Accept the conclusions, resign, and hope that's the end of it (it might not be).
• B: Appeal to the BSA's kangaroo court to clear their good name (with limited success and all while calling more attention to the situation).
• C; Mount a vigorous (and expensive) legal defense with a slightly higher probability of success (again, while calling more attention to the situation).

I'm glad to be a leader as long as my son and his friends are having fun; however, once he's done, I can't see myself continuing to support the program in any way that involves direct contact with youth. For every bad actor, there is probably an equal number of awful families who wouldn't hesitate to jeopardize a volunteer's reputation over a perceived slight. Granted, I believe the vast majority of people in this world are good and decent ... but it only takes one. 

Over the course of my volunteer career, and through the several councils I have been involved in, the adult volunteer corps has been treated as expendable. 

BSA should protect the rights of every member vigorously, youth or adult, when needed.  I talk with many who were formerly involved with the program, and ask them if they'll lend a hand.  There is an element of genuine fear of dealing with other peoples' kids, and being one misunderstanding away from accusation and false ignominy.

My personal safeguard against this is to always have an adult buddy "attached" to the hip.  I can readily recall at least four instances over the years where a Scout "heard" something that I or another adult did not actually say, misinterpreted it, reported it to parents/other leaders, and the accused adult thankfully had other adult witnesses to refute or clarify.

I do not even do Scoutmaster conferences out of earshot any more.  This is not the way it should be, but I have found it to be a prudent practice.

Edited November 24 by InquisitiveScouter

[Eagle94-A1]

On 11/24/2024 at 10:03 AM, InquisitiveScouter said:

Over the course of my volunteer career, and through the several councils I have been involved in, the adult volunteer corps has been treated as expendable. 

Understatement of the year. I have seen it as well in the multiple councils I have been in. And now I know why so many old-timers no longer over the years stop doing anything with district or council, and focus on units instead. That or quit altogether.

[mrjohns2]

1 hour ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

And now I know why so many old-timers no longer over the years stop doing anything with district or council, and focus on units instead.

And know you also know why the old timers complain “how come none of the younger volunteers stay around after they are done with their units?”  Same reason. 

[BetterWithCheddar]

On 11/24/2024 at 9:03 AM, InquisitiveScouter said:

There is an element of genuine fear of dealing with other peoples' kids, and being one misunderstanding away from accusation and false ignominy.

I could not agree more. I have yet to attend an overnight event with my 8-year-old Cub Scout.

I don't think we'll attend our council's 3-day summer Cub camp either. The thought of being saddled with someone else's kids is overwhelming to me. I struggle to maintain order at Den meetings. 10% of the boys cause 90% of the problems and I don't want to be there when something really bad happens. For my son to get the most out of the program, I know I'll need to take a different approach when he joins a Scout Troop, but as of now - it's not worth the trouble IMHO.

I really hate to admit it, but it's true.