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It’s Time for Congress to Hold Hearings on BSA Child Sex Abuse
Throughout its 109-year history, Boy Scouts of America has consistently held itself out to the public as a moral and safe environment for young boys to participate in healthy outdoor activities. But as revealed by the “Ineligible Volunteer Files,” BSA has for nearly a century been secretly removing scoutmasters for child sexual abuse at an alarming rate, reaching an average of one every three days in the 1970s.
As a child sexual abuse litigator who has handled more than a thousand cases, I can say without hesitation that BSA’s lax application of screening methods and apparent pattern of cover-ups exposed countless children to the worst of the worst child rapists. The group’s failure to report these monsters to police or civil authorities allowed some of the most sinister offenders to infiltrate other youth-serving organizations and enter back into scouting, re-registering under new identities.
In 2017, America’s “Most Trusted Institution” spent nearly $950,000 in lobbying efforts, much of which went to defeating legislation that would give victims more time to sue their abusers. The egregious nature of the group’s advocacy has drawn scrutiny from at least nine members of Congress.
It’s time for Congress to hold hearings regarding BSA’s long tolerance of child molestation in scouting.
It’s time for Congress to terminate BSA’s federal subsidies until its lobbying efforts stop, and to investigate whether the group should be allowed to renew its Congressional Charter as the oldest and largest youth-serving organization in America.
Congress granted BSA a federal charter in 1916, giving it exclusive rights to the BSA name, badges, descriptive words, markings, and emblems. Boy Scouts of America has derived millions of dollars per year licensing the rights to these federally protected assets. It garners tremendous income from its reward-based system that obligates scouts to purchase badges, emblems, and other paraphernalia.
Besides being endowed by Congress with exclusive economic rights, BSA also receives federal funding, membership dues, private donations, and corporate sponsorship. With an income exceeding $780 million per year, Boy Scouts of America is the 18th largest nonprofit in the United States.
While scouting has been a positive influence on the lives of many millions, the great good it has provided is being drowned out by its unraveling history of allowing child molesters to enter its ranks. In fact, the head of the BSA program for safeguarding scouts from abuse was in 2005 convicted of trafficking child porn.
The roots of the problem run deep, and BSA’s recent lobbying push is reminiscent of an organization that cares more about protecting its brand than bringing child rapists to justice.
Victims of child sex abuse often suffer in silence—preferring to take the shame and humiliation to their graves. Those who come forward even as adults should have legal recourse, but if BSA is allowed to continue its lobbying efforts unchecked, an untold number of child rapists who preyed on scouts may escape exposure and punishment.
Boy Scouts of America is now considering chapter 11 bankruptcy as it faces nearly 250 lawsuits for alleged child sex abuse. Its insurance carriers are refusing to settle these claims.
My 25 years’ experience tell me this is just the tip of the iceberg, and BSA is about to be inundated with a flood of lawsuits that will eclipse the Catholic Church bankruptcies we’ve seen over the past 15 years.
Tim Kosnoff is a an attorney, consultant and writer. For twenty five years he represented more than a thousand survivors of child sexual abuse in litigation against churches and secular organizations. Tim’s first civil child sexual abuse sexual abuse case against the Mormon Church resulted in a $3 million dollar settlement. That story was chronicled in the 2011 book The Sins of Brother Curtis by Lisa Davis.
Helena Diocese Files for Bankruptcy, Seeks to Settle 362 Claims of Sexual Abuse
Helena Diocese Files for Bankruptcy, Seeks to Settle 362 Claims of Sexual Abuse
Attorney Dan Fasy to NBC News: The Abuse in the Helena Diocese case was “widespread … (and) some of the most horrific abuse we’ve dealt with.”
Editor’s note:On Friday, Jan. 31, 2014, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, Montana filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to settle 362 claims of sexual abuse by clergy. It signals the near end of more than two years of litigation and legal talks.
Kosnoff Fasy, together with three other law firms, filed suit against the Helena Diocese in September 2011, alleging that church officials failed to protect hundreds of minor children from clergy and other employees, who were sexual abusers.
The majority of victims in this case came forward to protect future generations of children. As one victim put it: “It’s wrong what happened to me and to other children. People need to know what happened. I don’t want it swept under the rug.”
The plaintiffs’ legal team includes: Kosnoff Fasy of Seattle, Datsopoulos MacDonald & Lind of Missoula, Montana; James Vernon and Weeks of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; and Joseph Blumel of Spokane, Wash.
Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/31/22524555-catholic-diocese-in-helena-mont-files-for-bankruptcy-to-resolve-sex-abuse-lawsuits?lite – http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/31/22524555-catholic-diocese-in-helena-mont-files-for-bankruptcy-t
Time for Boy Scouts of America to confront the difference between pedophilia and homosexuality, says Kosnoff Fasy
“SEATTLE, May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Attorneys suing the Boy Scouts of America for child sexual abuse and failing to protect children said Thursday that today’s vote to remove a ban on gay scouts will clarify the sharp difference between homosexuality – a preference for members of one’s own sex – and pedophilia, a major crime.
Today’s vote could lead to better safety for children, if the Boy Scouts learn from past mistakes, said Tim Kosnoff , a Seattle attorney who has represented more than more than 100 boys and men sexually victimized within scouting. Kosnoff and his law partner, Dan Fasy , now represent more than 80 clients nationwide suing the Boy Scouts for sexual abuse.
“Parents should not fear gay scouts. They should fear the organization’s refusal and failure to protect their boys from the real threats – sexual predators and an organization that has routinely covered up and not reported crimes to law enforcement.”
During the past decade, Kosnoff studied the Boy Scouts’ historical records, more than 30,000 internal files documenting allegations of child sexual abuse by adult scout volunteers. Kosnoff spent years compiling a database of sex-abuse claims using records from court cases.
Kosnoff found among nearly 50 years of the so-called “perversion files” or “ineligible volunteer” files:
* The problem of sexual abuse in scouting was not related to homosexuality but pedophilia – a completely unrelated phenomenon.
* The overwhelming percentage of files revealed that married men, outwardly “heterosexual men,” are responsible for the vast majority of child sexual victimization within scouting.
* Abusers often had a past history of being abused themselves as children.
* Teenage gay boys represented a miniscule threat, something found in academic research, as well. (The Boy Scouts themselves consulted four experts in the field of child sexual-abuse prevention, and all four conveyed a nearly universal opinion that homosexuality is not a risk factor for the sexual abuse of children, the Associated Press reported in April.)
“The Boy Scouts have evaded analyzing their own files, to the detriment of children’s safety,” Kosnoff said, noting that pedophiles with prior abuse records were allowed to return to serve as scout leaders.
“The real issue is the Boy Scouts’ refusal and failure to implement reasonable safeguards that will protect all boys from sexual victimization by anyone.”
For years, Kosnoff has advocated for criminal background checks for adult scout volunteers, a “two-deep” leadership rule – mandatory two adults present at all times – and swift reporting of abuse claims to police, rather than self-styled investigations or no investigation by the Boy Scouts.
Gay boys should experience the same benefits that scouting offers to all scouts: honor, dignity, respect, patriotism, and the opportunity to learn leadership and outdoor skills, said Dan Fasy , Kosnoff’s law partner.
Fasy noted that the Boys Scouts of America was chartered by Congress in 1916 and today still receives substantial federal subsidies. Fasy called upon the Boy Scouts of America to stop discriminating or forego taxpayer subsidies.
“It is fundamentally un-American to deny opportunities to some boys,” Fasy said. “It’s just wrong.”
Tim Kosnoff is a former deputy prosecutor and longtime trial lawyer. In the past 16 years, Kosnoff has represented more than 1,000 victims of childhood sex abuse. He has secured over $250 million in settlements and judgments for abuse survivors.
Dan Fasy is a partner at Kosnoff Fasy and has represented hundreds of injured clients.
Contact:
Tim Kosnoff , child sexual-abuse attorney/legal expert: 425-830-8201
Dan Fasy , child sexual-abuse attorney/legal expert: 206-462-4338″
Source:PR Newswire
Kosnoff Fasy welcomes Kara Tredway, our newest associate
By Dan Fasy
Tim Kosnoff and I are extremely please to announce the arrival of the newest member of our firm, Kara A. Tredway. She is a 2011 distinguished graduate of the McGeorge School of Law at University of the Pacific, Sacramento.
Kara will be particularly valuable to our firm as we take on clients from California, where she is a bar association member, as she is here in Washington state.
To give readers an idea of Kara’s background and aspirations, we posed a series of questions:
Why did you decide to go to law school?
I decided from a very young age that I wanted to become a lawyer. My parents were always supportive but also told me to keep an open mind about finally deciding on a career path. Throughout high school, college and beyond I continued to hold fast to my dream of becoming a lawyer. In all that time, I never once truly considered any other path for myself, so I decided to fulfill my dream and entered law school in 2008.
Did you go to law school directly after graduating from college?
I did not enter law school immediately after undergrad. After my undergraduate work, I pursued a master’s degree abroad in the socio-legal field. I spent a year living in a small university town in the Basque region of Spain taking classes with professors and students from across the world. It was a truly wonderful experience. After completing my masters, I worked as a legal assistant so that I could have first-hand knowledge of the inner-workings of a law firm. I thought gaining that experience was essential to help me determine whether pursuing a career in the law was the right thing for me.
What helped you decide where to attend law school? And why two law licenses – California and Washington?
Originally, I thought I wanted to focus on international human-rights law and the school that I chose, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, has an excellent international-law program. Also, I was considering the possibility of working with politics on some level and, since McGeorge is located in the state capital, Sacramento, it seemed like a good fit for my interests.
As I was nearing the end of my third year at McGeorge, I was not 100-percent sure whether I would practice in California or Washington. I am from California originally and I honestly never thought that I would live anywhere else. However, during my time in law school my husband was pursuing his own educational goals and was working toward earning a doctorate in political science from the University of Washington.
In Seattle, I always got the feeling that I was home. We finally decided that we wanted to live permanently in Seattle, so that is what prompted me to take the Washington bar exam. However, you never know where you will be years down the road, so I decided to take the California exam first just to have some options down the road.
Did you know what area of law practice you wanted to pursue?
My goal for wanting to practice law is to make a difference in people’s lives. I truly believe that plaintiff’s work is the best way to accomplish that goal so it has always been on my priority list in terms of practice areas. If I was not working on the civil side then I think I would consider being a criminal prosecutor for a city or county.
Kosnoff Fasy has a victim-advocacy focus. What about this approach appeals to you?
Anytime someone takes the step to hire a lawyer, he or she is usually in a difficult situation. Now, add in the complexity of wanting to hire a lawyer because you were a victim of childhood sexual abuse. There are so many emotions tied into bringing this type of case and, for many of our clients, it is an incredibly difficult thing to do.
What I appreciate most about Kosnoff Fasy is that the partners have recognized the need for a special kind of advocacy for victims of childhood sexual abuse and have structured their firm around that need. I appreciate that Kosnoff Fasy is singularly committed to seeking justice for victims of childhood abuse.
What do you most hope to accomplish during your first year?
I would like to see my work directly help those who have been victimized. I cannot imagine anything more powerful or rewarding than that.
Welcome, Kara!
Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.
Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kara Tredway, direct: 206-453-0579
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590
Washington State Extends the Statute of Limitations for Filing Criminal Charges in Child Sex-Abuse Cases
“This is a very significant development because it will protect children. The new changes in the law will enable victims to bring criminal actions against their abusers when they’re adults — when they’re better prepared emotionally and psychologically to assist in the prosecution.” — Tim Kosnoff
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/spincontrol/2013/apr/18/child-sex-abuse-prosecutions-extended/
Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.
Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kara Tredway, direct: 206-453-0579
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590
The Next Frontier of Scholarly Study: Sexual Abuse in Puerto Rico
By TIM KOSNOFF
We often broach the notion of statutes of limitation, typically within the context of how such time constraints serve the purposes of certain pedophiles and hinder the ability of the abused to seek damages in civil litigation.
Let’s look at the notion of time limits in a different way and ask rhetorically: Is there a built-in time period after which the effects on the victim miraculously just disappear?
Common sense tells us such a supposition is ridiculous. Anecdotal evidence continually reveals to those of us who litigate against accused abusers that the devastating effects on victims can linger for entire lifetimes.
An ongoing scholarly study seems to show precisely how observable the damage to victims can be. It’s being conducted among subjects in Puerto Rico: interesting given that the Caribbean island probably isn’t the first place many think of when the topic of child sexual abuse is brought up. Here, then, from a 2011 article in the St. Cloud (Minnesota) Times, is a refresher:
“SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A lawsuit filed Monday in a Puerto Rico court accuses a St. John’s Abbey [a Minnesota institution] monk of sexually abusing a teenager in 1978 at a boarding school in [the Puerto Rican city of] Humacao.
“The lawsuit accuses the Rev. Raymond Francisco Schulte of abusing the boy at the San Antonio Abad boarding school that was run by St. John’s Abbey. Schulte was assigned as a monk, priest, teacher and principal at the school from 1977 to 1981.
“The lawsuit accuses Schulte, who also was known as Father Ray or Father Francisco, of sexually abusing at least two other students at the school and of recruiting at least one boy to attend St. John’s Prep School.
“The lawsuit accuses Schulte of continuing the abuse at the Prep School when the student enrolled there and when Schulte returned there in 1981 to serve as Prep School chaplain.
“Mike Ford, the attorney representing St. John’s Abbey, said last week that the abbey would discuss resolution to the case even though the decades-old allegations might put the case outside the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations in civil cases is the time in which a victim must file a claim or be barred from doing so.
“The complaint filed Monday against Schulte indicates that the victim didn’t ‘have knowledge of the injuries relating to the sexual abuse‘ until June, 2010. In May, 2010, an investigator interviewed the man related to a case involving another possible Schulte victim. The man described what had happened to him with Schulte in an affidavit, and then ‘began to think about the sexual abuse by Fr. Schulte and the ways that these acts had injured him,’ according to the complaint.
“‘Plaintiff also, for the first time, was aware that Fr. Schulte had sexually abused more than he and his friend, while at (San Antonio Abad boarding school). This knowledge led the Plaintiff to believe that the Defendant St. John’s may in some way be responsible for failing to supervise Fr. Schulte, for failing to protect Plaintiff from Fr. Schulte, and that St. John’s may have defrauded the Plaintiff.’”
The above, then, given the Ford quote, indicates how a statute of limitations can shield an alleged perpetrator. pubmed/22545566 ”This study explores dissociative symptoms in three different groups of Puerto Rican children. Data were collected on 40 children with documented sexual abuse history, 39 children with psychiatric disorders but without a history of sexual abuse, and 40 community control children.
Now to the abstract for the scholarly study being conducted at Carlos Albizu University in San Juan: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
“Dissociative symptoms were assessed with the child using the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC); a social worker answered the Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC). Results indicated that children with sexual abuse obtained significantly different scores on both the TSCC and the CDC.
“Further analysis indicated that child and social worker reports of dissociative symptoms were highly correlated . . . Furthermore, 30 percent of the children in the sexual-abuse group scored at or above the cutoff point of 12 on the CDC, which is indicative of a dissociative disorder. None of the children in the other two groups obtained such a score.
“The results suggest that children with documented sexual-abuse victimization demonstrate a significant number of dissociative phenomena that not only are subjectively experienced but also can be observed by a non-family member.
“Finally, as nearly a third of the abused children obtained a score of 12 or higher on the CDC, the next step is to prepare clinicians to conduct a proper and formal diagnosis assessment of dissociative disorders.”
Meanwhile we await a way to assure such victims and their friends and loved ones that, someday, a statute of limitations will magically make their agonies go away.
Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.
Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590
New International Effort to Stem Child Sexual Abuse a Positive Step, but a Small Victory Given the Suspected Number of Pedophiles
By TIM KOSNOFF
Those wishing an international alliance to help stop the scourge of child sexual abuse, may find hope in a Dec. 4 document released by the U.S. Department of Justice. Yet, while the prospect of the United States attorney general partnering with leaders in 48 other countries would seem to be encouraging, the “fine print” of the DOJ’s own official statement indicates just how futile such a broad effort may be.
The D.O.J. official statement notes that Attorney General Eric Holder and European Union (EU) Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom launched the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online at a Dec. 5 conference in Brussels. The initiative is intended “to unite decision-makers all around the world to better identify and assist victims and to prosecute the perpetrators. Participants at the launch included ministers and high-level officials from 27 EU member states, who are also joined by 22 countries outside the EU.”
Officials say with great optimism that the international initiative would “strengthen our mutual resources to bring more perpetrators to justice, identify more victims of child sexual abuse and ensure that they receive our help and support.”
Holder said: “Through this global alliance we can build on the success of previous cross-border police operations that have dismantled international pedophile networks and safeguard more of the world’s children.”
Malmstrom added: “Behind every child abuse image is an abused child, an exploited and helpless victim. When these images are circulated online, they can live on forever. Our responsibility is to protect children wherever they live and to bring criminals to justice wherever they operate. The only way to achieve this is to team up for more intensive and better coordinated action worldwide.”
Officials promised that members would try to thwart the “manufacturing and sharing of child pornography, online enticement of minors and online child prostitution.” The new effort would mean that “the fight against child sexual abuse online will therefore be more effective.”
One wonders: More effective than what?
Officials at the gathering observe (perhaps very conservatively) that, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, 50,000 new child-abuse images are added online each year and that “the criminal networks . . . know no boundaries and exploit the lack of information exchange and the legal loopholes that [have existed] within and between countries. This is why international cooperation is crucial to effectively investigate cases of child sexual abuse online and to better identify and prosecute offenders.”
Key goals of the alliance are:
Enhancing efforts to identify victims and ensuring that they receive the necessary assistance, support and protection.
Enhancing efforts to investigate cases of child sexual abuse online and to identify and prosecute offenders.
Increasing children’s awareness of online risks, including the self-production of images and “grooming” methods used by pedophiles.
Reducing the availability of child abuse material online and the re-victimization of children.
As evidence of what can be accomplished by an international alliance, justice-department officials cite Operation Delego, said to have achieved the largest U.S. prosecution of an international criminal network organized to sexually exploit children. The operation, according to officials, marshaled resources from the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service and other government agencies, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations, industry and international partners.
Delego “spanned years,” according to officials, and targeted participants in “Dreamboard,” identified as “a private, members-only, online bulletin board that was created and operated to promote pedophilia and encourage the sexual abuse of very young children, in an environment designed to avoid law-enforcement detection.”
The results of Delego? Just 72 defendants were charged in the U.S. and about 500 more have been identified for investigation by foreign authorities.
The D.O.J. statement prior to the Brussels conference concludes: “Despite vigorously fighting all aspects of child exploitation, the Justice Department recognizes that more work remains to be done and that work is vital to our collective success in combating this global problem.”
More, indeed.
Some estimate that pedophiles may constitute 5 percent of the population. That would mean, given a world of 7 billion souls, perhaps 350 million active or potential child-molesters. Such would indicate that identifying 574 defendants, while admirable, is a relatively infinitesimal victory toward mitigating the sexual abuse of children.
Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly . Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.
Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590
From India to Africa, Ireland to Australia, Child Sexual Abuse is a Global Problem
By DAN FASY
Although the focus of our law firm is providing a service to American and Canadian survivors of sexual abuse, we are constantly reminded of the problem of child sexual abuse that is pervasive throughout the world.
The crime of pedophilia, of course, is scarcely restricted to the United States, even though such domestic abuses fittingly get the bulk of the attention in this country. Perhaps this gives some American news consumers the impression that the scourge of such abuses is more prevalent in this country. That being the case, perhaps we would do well to acknowledge the abundance of child-sexual-abuse news emanating from countries around the world.
A sampling of news items from the past month includes the following:
A recent report in The Herald Sun, a major newspaper in Australia found that a decision by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to establish a royal commission into child sexual abuse “has the backing of almost every Australian.”
A well-regarded pollster asked some 1,400 Australians about the prime minister’s initiative, and 95 percent said they support the move, with just 3 percent opposed to it.
The director of the poll later said he couldn’t remember any issue ever receiving such near-unanimous approval.
Beyond that, the news account observed that the royal commission, which will inquire into all institutions, not only churches, “has the support of all political parties, state and federal.”
In contrast to such enlightened poll numbers, a few weeks prior to the above the Daily Observer in Africa actually carried an opinion piece headlined: “Gambia: Say ‘No’ to Child-sex Tourism.” One wonders: as opposed to say “yes” to such an abomination?
Coincidentally, a few weeks ago The Times of India reported that a campaign under the banner of “say no to child abuse” would soon be launched by a group of non-government organizations. The campaign is the work of officials at an advocacy group called Childline.
One advocate, Dr. Jagmeet Chawla, said: “This should be made a mass movement and the issue should not be kept under wraps.”
Several days prior to the above dispatch, CNN carried a brief item with information similar to what tragically has become all too familiar to news consumers and criminal-justice officials:
“London (CNN) — A retired bishop and a retired priest have been arrested by British police on suspicion of sexual offenses against boys and young men — one as young as 12 — in the 1980s and 1990s.
“The 80-year-old former Church of England bishop, from Somerset in south-west England, was questioned in connection with eight alleged offenses before being released on medical advice.
“Police say the man — the highest-ranking church official to be arrested on abuse allegations — will be questioned again at a later date.
“His former colleague, a 67-year-old retired priest from West Sussex, in southern England, was questioned over two alleged offenses before being released on bail pending further inquiries.”
From the Nov. 6 edition of the Irish Examiner:
“The vast majority of sex-abuse survivors who sought help in rape-crisis centers last year were attacked as children, it was revealed today.
“Of the 2,308 people who went for counseling, 53 percent of the women and 84 percent of the men reported the violence occurred when they were children only. Some 65 percent of survivors said they were abused aged younger than 12.
“The Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI) revealed that those who came forward last year had waited on average 25 years to access its services.”
From BBC News, Nov. 5:
“The prime minister is appointing a ‘senior independent figure’ to look into the way allegations of sexual abuse at north Wales children’s homes in the 1970s and ’80s were dealt with.
“Victim Steve Messham has said that the Waterhouse inquiry of 2,000 only covered a fraction of the alleged assaults.
“Another of the homes’ residents says [officials] did not hear all of the abuse claims.”
Tragically, such also could be observed by those of us in many other parts of the world.
Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.
Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590
US – Scouts Abuse Scandal-Where’s The Action?
Editor’s note: The following is a statement published by Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
BY BARBARA DORRIS
It’s been a week since BSA abuse and cover up files were released. It’s been more than a week since BSA officials pledged to “notify law enforcement of any allegations that have not already been disclosed.”
So is this happening? If so, where’s the proof?
And if not, why not?
Every day that information about known and suspected child sex crimes stays hidden, kids are needlessly and recklessly and callously put at risk. Every day this information stays hidden enables child molesters to destroy evidence, intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, fabricate alibis, and flee elsewhere. Every day this information stays hidden, the chances increase that statute of limitations.
And where are the names of Scout officials who have been ousted for ignoring or concealing known and suspected child sex crimes?
Months ago, three Penn State officials were ousted in the Jerry Sandusky debacle. This week, a BBC official stepped down in the Jimmy Savile controversy.
Those two cases involve one predator each, not hundreds or thousands.
Yet we’ve seen no evidence that even a single Scout official has been demoted or disciplined or kicked out because he hid or ignored child sex crimes. And we’ve seen no evidence that even a single page of Scout records has been turned over recently to law enforcement.
Talk is cheap. The Scouts have pledged action. It should happen NOW.
Further reading:
http://www.snapnetwork.org/us_scouts_abuse_scandal_where_s_the_action
The Boy Scout ‘Perversion’ Files: They’re About Combatting Pedophilia, Not Bashing Gays
By TIM KOSNOFF
Claims that pedophiles are predominantly homosexual or that homosexuality leads to child molestation are scarcely new. They continue courtesy of, among others, the hierarchy of the Boy Scouts of America, an organization with rampant documentation of pedophilia among its past and present leadership.
Contradicting a relationship between homosexuality and pedophilia also is nothing new. Indeed, one of the most compelling studies debunking a causal relationship between same-sex preference and sex crimes against children is from oft-cited scientific research published in 1994 in “Pediatrics.” The latter is the official journal of the American Society of Pediatrics.
What follows is the abstract for the study:
“Objective. To determine if recognizably homosexual adults are frequently accused of the sexual molestation of children.
“Design. Chart review of medical records of children evaluated for sexual abuse.
“Setting. Child sexual abuse clinic at a regional children’s hospital.
“Patients. Patients were 352 children (276 girls and 76 boys) referred to a subspecialty clinic for the evaluation of suspected child sexual abuse. Mean age was 6.1 years (range, 7 months to 17 years).
“Data collected. Charts were reviewed to determine the relationships of the children to the alleged offender, the sex of the offender, and whether or not the alleged offender was reported to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
“Results. Abuse was ruled out in 35 cases. Seventy-four children were allegedly abused by other children and teenagers less than 18 years old. In nine cases, an offender could not be identified. In the remaining 269 cases, two offenders were identified as being gay or lesbian. In 82 percent of cases (222/269), the alleged offender was a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child. Using the data from our study, the 95 percent confidence limits of the risk children would identify recognizably homosexual adults as the potential abuser are from 0 percent to 3.1 percent. These limits are within current estimates of the prevalence of homosexuality in the general community.
Conclusions. The children in the group studied were unlikely to have been molested by identifiably gay or lesbian people.
Jamie McGonnigal, founder of the advocacy group TalkAboutEquality.com, cited the above study Sept. 19 in a blog entry for The Huffington Post. McGonnigal also noted the ongoing perpetuation of the gay-means-pedophile myth by the usual suspects:
“Anti-gay hate groups such as the Family Research Council (FRC) are constantly on the attack, perpetuating the false link between homosexuality and pedophilia. FRC’s Peter Sprigg said in their brochure ‘Debating Homosexuality: Understanding Two Views,’ ‘We believe the evidence shows … that relative to the size of their population, homosexual men are more likely to engage in child sexual abuse than are heterosexual men. And on the organization’s website, FRC president Tony Perkins claimed (again with no evidence whatsoever): ‘While activists like to claim that pedophilia is a completely distinct orientation from homosexuality, evidence shows a disproportionate overlap between the two. … It is a homosexual problem.’”
Perkins, of course, is a conspicuous hard-right-philosophy spokesperson, frequently seen on TV issues programs. His agenda scarcely is to find the truth, especially when it comes to bashing gays. Perkins’ many followers aren’t just ardent believers of whatever he tells them. They’re also inclined to believe the most extreme anti-gay propaganda, especially if falsehoods can have for them the added benefit of finding bogeymen to blame for the sexual abuse of children.
Those who perpetuate the lie also are obviously predisposed not only to reject scientific analysis such as the study cited above. They’re also proud about finding contemptible scientific findings relating to other matters — evolution, bacteriology, etc. — that rationale people believe.
Thus it doesn’t surprise me in the least when, during the flood of media coverage involving this law firm’s release of information about so many cases of pedophilia associated with the Boy Scouts of America, a response to this blog was:
“That’s what happens when you let homosexuals into scouting.”
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