Boy Scouts of America sex abuse cases

A Boy Scouts of America proof of claim form needed to be signed before November 16, 2020. The proof is a written statement setting forth a survivor claim.

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with 2.3 million youth members and approximately 889,000 adult volunteers in 2017.[1] In 1979 there were over 5 million youths in BSA.

The high risk of sex abuse in volunteer youth organizations has been recognized,[2] and, in 1988, the BSA created a sex abuse education and prevention program called the Youth Protection program to help address the problem.[3][4] There were around 2,000 reported cases of abuse within the Boy Scouts of America prior to 1994.[5][6]

In 2010, a jury ordered that the Boy Scouts of America pay US$18.5 million (equivalent to $25.8 million in 2023) to a scout who was abused in the 1980s – the largest punitive damages award to a single plaintiff in a child abuse case in the US.[7]

On February 18, 2020, the Boy Scouts of America filed for a Chapter 11 financial restructuring to offer "equitable compensation" to survivors and their families. The BSA cited approximately 200 pending lawsuits in state and federal district courts across the United States and 1,700 potential claimants in total. In May of that same year, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware set November 16, 2020, at 5 pm EST as the bar date for all survivors of sexual abuse; 92,700 sexual abuse claims were filed with the bankruptcy court by the deadline.[8]

In December 2021, the insurer for the BSA agreed to pay $800 million into a fund for survivors,[9] and in September 2022 – as part of their bankruptcy settlement – the BSA agreed to pay over $2.4 billion into the fund, with payments beginning in September 2023.[10]

  1. ^ "2017 Boy Scouts of America Annual Report" (PDF) (Press release). Boy Scouts of America. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  2. ^ Patrick, Boyle (1991). "Scouts Honor". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  3. ^ "Youth Protection Guidelines". River Trails District. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  4. ^ "Youth Protection Reminder | Mt. Diablo Silverado Council". Bsa-mdsc.org. August 25, 2012. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  5. ^ "Outline of Patrick Boyle book Scouts Honor". University of Maryland. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  6. ^ Peterson, Janice (August 18, 2009). "Former Orem Boy Scout Leader Sentenced". Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. Archived from the original on November 27, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference GUA01 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ McLaughlin, Eliott C.; Vera, Amir (November 16, 2020). "At least 92,000 have filed sex abuse claims against the Boy Scouts, legal team says". CNN. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  9. ^ Vitagliano, Brian (December 14, 2021). "Boy Scouts of America announces proposed $800 million settlement with insurer Chubb for sexual abuse victims". CNN. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Knauth, Dietrich (September 19, 2023). "Boy Scouts victims begin receiving settlement payouts as appeals continue". Reuters. Retrieved September 24, 2023.