Boy Scouts of America: Case Overview

On February 18, 2020, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed for bankruptcy amid a wave of sexual abuse allegations against  minor members. Celebrating its 110th anniversary only weeks prior, the organization’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy will affect over 82,000 survivors who have filed claims regarding decades-long sexual abuse.

The BSA has maintained its own internal recording system since the 1920s, which details thousands of acts of misconduct by scout leaders. Known as the Ineligible Volunteer Files (IV Files), misconduct reports were organized into five categories, including sexual misconduct. These hidden files, nicknamed the “Perversion Files,” were inaccessible to the public until their court-ordered release in 2012. Thereafter, files that detailed sexual abuse between 1965 and 1985 were released and available for review.  Contained within these files was information pertaining to hundreds of sexually abusive Scout leaders.

The title “IV Files” suggests that the individuals cited within the “Perversion Files” would be deemed ineligible to work or volunteer for the BSA after being identified as abusive. However, investigations reveal that many abusers were not only accepted back into the BSA, but were also placed into positions that enabled their future acts of sexual abuse.

The widespread pattern of sexual abuse against minors in the BSA has shattered the reputation of an organization striving to promote honor and volunteerism for over a century. Slater Slater Schulman LLP is dedicated to the confidential representation of individuals who were sexually abused as children while participating in the BSA.  The firm is representing thousands of sexual abuse survivors, including one of only nine survivors chosen to serve on the Tort Claimants’ Committee.

If you or someone you love has suffered this form of abuse and wishes to file a claim, please contact Slater Slater Schulman LLP for a free, confidential consultation by filling out the form on this page or by calling our office at (800) 251-6990.