Boy Scouts Lawsuit Opens Secret Files

(CBS)  Matt Stewart blames the Boy Scouts of America for his lost childhood.

"The first time I was molested was at the age of either six or seven," Stewart told CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes. "I was molested all the way up until I was 18 years old."

Stewart and his brother Tom were sexually abused by their assistant Scout master.

"The nightmares are still very real, even 25 to 30 years later," Matt said.

Former troop leader Bruce Phelps admitted under oath to having sexual contact with one and then the other.

As part of a lawsuit against Phelps and the Boy Scouts of America, the Stewarts' attorney, Tim Kosnoff, got an unprecedented look inside thousands of secret files through 2005.

"I was blown away," Kosnoff said. "It was staggering."

Kosnoff analyzed the numbers and came to this shocking conclusion: Before 1991, "a Scout leader was being tossed out for child molestation at the rate of one every three days," he said. "Post-1991, the rate was one every two days." That includes people suspected of abuse.

The Boy Scouts of America would not confirm how many troop leaders it has had to dismiss, but released a statement saying, "The total number of individuals in the file is an extremely small percentage of the tens of millions who have served in BSA since 1910."

Criminal background checks are now required for Scout leaders, and adults are prohibited from being alone with a child.

The organization claims its child abuse prevention program is the best in the country. However, in 2005 the man who ran that program, Douglas Smith Jr., was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for trafficking in child pornography on the Internet.

"The Boy Scouts of America is not a safe place for your boy," Matt Stewart said.

These days the entire first chapter of the Boy Scout handbook is dedicated to child abuse prevention. In it, children and parents are told that although Boy Scout law may emphasize obedience, if an adult asks a scout to do something uncomfortable, that's a rule that's OK to break.

[kevinanchi]

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[bluesky2725]

they say you never know what its like to walk in someone else''s shoes? Well Lets not be so hard on these boys ,now men ,who have had to walk this path. I am sure it is not a easy one and one I would NOT want to walk on.As the song goes &quot;Walk a mile in my shoes&quot;!

[kihswaukee]

Bad things happen, even in the best of organizations.

The BSA takes steps to prevent opportunity for abuse. They teach boys the three R''s of youth protection, 1) Recognize, 2) Resist and 3) Report. They have policies in place to prevent abuse.

The fact that the BSA has removed thousands of adult leaders says something about their efforts to ensure the safety of their youth members.

Still it is best for parents to be actively involved in their son''s program and be vigilant.

I think the story seemed very unbalanced and I believe CBS was marketing it as a sensational piece to promote viewership. News should be news, not entertainment. It could have been an opportunity to educate people about the dangers of child abuse and how it can be prevented. Instead it was a shallow unbalanced report attacking a fine organization in order to heighten ratings and the CBS profit margin. What a sad thing.

Integrity in journalism is the real victim in this story.

[archangelric]

sblake63 - the notion that homosexuality is wrong or immoral is rooted in mistranslation of one quote in the bible, and references later to that quote. This is called &quot;believing the bible rather than God&quot;.

The simple fact is that there are over 3000 species on this planet we have documented with homosexuality; if you want to say it''s a &quot;choice&quot; then Fruit Flies are making this choice. Your belief makes NO sense.

Further, it has been widely demonstrated that pedophilia has no relationship to sexuality; pedophiles are most often married; most often considered heterosexual; yet they abuse children of either ***. We are hearing about the boys because it is more sensational, sells newspapers, more than abused girls.

I don''t believe that most parents care if the person their kids are spending time with is homosexual or heterosexual, I don''t think they know or that the kids know one way or the other because that person is a schoolteacher, librarian, policeman, firefighter, store owner; etc. and that is how the kids know them. I think the parents are more concerned if that person is a pedophile; especially a family member or married neighbor who is a pedophile.

Most children are molested by family members (uncle, aunt, cousin, etc.) who are heterosexual. That''s the statistic you should be concerned about

[boston1954]

because i am a kid and i have learned a lot through boyscouts Posted by larsonfamil1

Apparently that does not include spelling, punctuation, or capitalization.

[sblake63]

You''''re still confusing gay and pedophile. Pedophilia is the urge to sexually abuse children of either gender. That''''s a horrendous sickness. Homosexuality doesn''''t stem from ''''issues.'''' It''''s not a choice. It''''s something you''''re born with.

Moreover, if the BSA is going to actively ban ***, then they are asking innocent children to define their sexuality at a relatively young age.
Posted by chrisfrenzy at 01:47 PM : Aug 29, 2007

chrisfrenzy - Dont be stating things that are not verified as medical facts. There is a LOT of debate about people being &quot;born&quot; gay or not. And I would bet that MOST parents when hard pressed to answer truthfully would NOT want their kids alone with a homosexual or under the leadership of a &quot;gay&quot; scoutmaster.

Pedophilia is a crime and Homosexualality is morally wrong - Period!

[nexgen99]

Don''t they have don''t ask don''t tell in the boy scouts. Must have been a closet gay. Hey idiots, why did you keep going back.

[nggr]

&quot;I was molested as a child by my baby sitter.
This was about 38 years ago. I remember it to this day. I was between 5 and 7 when this happened several times. I never told anyone until around the late 80''''s.

To this day, I do not believe that I ever gotten over this abuse.
People who sexually abuse others, should be executed. Let their forgiveness and eternal judgement rest with the Almighty.. in teh after life.
Posted by mrahaman at 05:28 PM : Aug 29, 2007&quot;


BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[nggr]

&quot;The organization claims its child abuse prevention program is the best in the country. However, in 2005 the man who ran that program, Douglas Smith Jr., was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for trafficking in child pornography on the Internet.&quot;

sounds like the republicans have infiltrated the boy scouts long ago.

[averjane]

azmka

It''s not offensive, but you shouldn''t think it''s normal either just because many or most boys think this way. Your dream of being molested stems from a mind that allows or chooses to lust. Actually, isn''t that where it begins for child molesters too? Your feelings are no different than theirs; it just chooses a different group to focus on. It doesn''t make it Ok though and there''s certainly not much difference. If we don''t strive to keep our minds pure, then we are no different than the rest really. Our minds are still ate up and it will affect relationships in life; especially one with God. We can''t control a thought that pops into our mind but we can control how much thought we put into it. It is an everyday battle and requires daily devotion to keeping it under control; especially for men. For the sake of attempting to have a normal life and relationship with a woman someday, men really need to take this subject very seriously and stop acting like un-diciplined school boys. Try to be a better example to your sons. Teach them respect for themselves and women. What that teacher did in Florida was not right. Had the genders been reversed, what would you think? He would have been a child molester! Exactly my point.