Almost 90,000 Sex Abuse Claims Filed In Boy Scouts Bankruptcy

Nearly 90,000 people have filed sex abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America as part of bankruptcy proceedings. The organization filed for bankruptcy in February after getting hit with hundreds of lawsuits claiming that Scout leaders had been abusing young boys for decades.

“The number of claims is mind-boggling,” said Paul Mones, who won a $19.9 million sex abuse verdict against the Boy Scouts in 2010. “It’s chilling in terms of the amount of horror that was experienced.”

Most of the claims are from the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, before the Boy Scouts starting running criminal background checks and requiring staff and volunteers to undergo abuse prevention training.

The Boy Scouts are working with the bankruptcy court to create a fund that will compensate all abuse survivors who can verify their claims. The bulk of the money is expected to come from the national organization, which will likely have to sell off some of its real estate and other financial holdings. The Boy Scouts’ roughly 260 local troops will also provide money to fund.

“We are devastated by the number of lives impacted by past abuse in Scouting and moved by the bravery of those who have come forward,” the Boy Scouts said in a statement. “We are heartbroken that we cannot undo their pain.”

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