INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — An Indiana man wants justice after he says he was sexually abused by scout leaders when he was as a teen with Boy Scouts of America. Eyewitness News agreed to conceal his identity.
"It was not only one abuser, but it was two and not at the same time," he said. "Both were employees of the BSA and they were in a leadership role."
He said one man was like a father figure.
"I was lacking that in my childhood and this filled a void of what I felt was lacking within my own family dynamics. So for an adult to come along and not really to replace my father, but to be more of a father role and taking an interest was really where kind of the in was for the perpetrator," he said.
He said the abuse happened when he was 12 and ended when he was about 15. During that time, he said his life started spiraling out of control.
"I was doing a lot of drugs and alcohol. I was doing a lot of stealing, things of that nature, acting out. I ultimately ended up with an arrest record and I started going through counseling probably through age 15," he said.
Years later, at the age of about 23 or 25 he believes, he told his psychiatrist that he was sexually abused.
"It definitely involved a lot of shame and things like that that you didn't want to divulge. You feel weak. You feel like you've allowed this to happen to you," he said.
When he acknowledged what had happened, the statute of limitations had expired. He then submitted a complaint to BSA in 1986 detailing the incidents and said he received a verbal apology.
According to Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, PLLC, the law firm representing him, BSA documents reveal the scout leader's personnel records were destroyed in 1984. He was a District Scout Executive and "resigned" in 1977. According to the file, that same scout leader had been accused of molesting another boy.
Documents also show the survivor claims he was abused by Rusty Bowen, another scout leader. BSA files show Bowen was criminally convicted for raping a 10-year old boy over several years in the early 1980's.
A new law passed in New Jersey allows any survivors who were sexually abused during the 30-year time frame the BSA was headquartered in New Jersey to sue for damages.
"The state I grew up in only had a seven-year statute of limitations, so when I acknowledged this had happened to me in my mid-20s it was too late to seek any remedy through the courts," he said.
The new law goes into effect December 1. Survivors now have a two-year window to file a claim.
"The outcome we hope to find justice for all victims who have not had the opportunity to bring claims before now," said Steve Steven Reich, attorney with PCVA, a law firm representing adult survivors across the country.
Due to the number of claims, there are talks of BSA potentially filing bankruptcy.
"If that does occur, victims nationwide, regardless of when the abuse occurred, might have an avenue for seeking justice," Reich said.
Attorneys are also investigating claims against an Indiana scout leader named Richard Merritt, also known as Randall Merritt. BSA files show he volunteered for 10 years.
In 1972, Merritt was an adult leader in BSA's Explorer Post 510 in Indianapolis, when he was placed into treatment with a psychiatrist after he admitted to molesting scouts. Upon completion, BSA files show he was allowed to return to scouting on a "probationary" basis. That file was later destroyed.
In 1982, files show Merritt was again accused of molesting multiple scouts. He initially denied the accusations, but later admitted to molesting three scouts from Explorer Post 12 on an overnight camping trip. BSA never reported Merritt's conduct to authorities.
"We have seen this time and time again where survivors have come forward with their stories of abuse, we obtain the records on their perpetrators and we find out the Boy Scouts was aware of the problem and yet put the person back into circulation which allowed that perpetrator to victimize a whole new set of victims," Reich said. "It's infuriating for me and infuriating for the victims who have to realize the abuse they suffered could easily have been prevented."
"I don't think you ever feel like it's over. It doesn't totally define me but is definitely a life experience that has had an influence on how I lived my life," said the victim of abuse who talked to Eyewitness News on Thursday.
For this Indiana survivor, he said he hopes his story helps others. In the meantime, he's just waiting for justice to be served.
"I think it will feel better once there has been an acknowledgement in my specific case. I think that would be a good day for me," he said.
Boy Scouts of America response to allegations in the lawsuits
The Boy Scouts of America issued a response to the allegations in teh lawsuit. Here it is in its entirety:
Consistent with our commitment to protecting Scouts and upholding our values as an organization, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) strongly supports efforts to ensure that anyone who commits sexual abuse is held accountable. First and foremost, we care deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children. We believe victims, we support them, we pay for counseling by a provider of their choice, and we encourage them to come forward. It is BSA policy that all incidents of suspected abuse are reported to law enforcement.
Regarding the BSA's general position on statute of limitations reform:
We support the complete elimination of the criminal statute of limitations for child abuse.
We support extending the civil statute of limitations against individual abusers and expanding the civil statute of limitations for child abuse on a prospective basis.
We support retroactive reforms of civil statute of limitations if an organization knowingly concealed or otherwise withheld evidence of wrongdoing. We also support retroactive statute of limitations reform for claims against individual abusers.
We believe it is imperative that all convicted abusers serve their full criminal sentences and comply with any post-release requirements to protect children and reduce recidivism.
We do not oppose efforts to strengthen protections for survivors of sexual abuse, including by reforming civil and criminal statutes of limitations governing allegations of abuse.
We do, however, have concerns with reforms that impose retroactive liability on organizations that did not have actual knowledge of the specific misconduct underlying an allegation of abuse, and we have expressed those concerns along with other similarly affected organizations, including state education agencies and other community organizations.
Regarding the BSA's Youth Protection policies:
The BSA has taken significant steps over many years to ensure that we respond aggressively and effectively to reports of sexual abuse. We recognize, however, that there were instances in our organization's history when cases were not addressed or handled in a manner consistent with our commitment to protect Scouts, the values of our organization, and the procedures we have in place today.
Today, the BSA has a multi-layered process of safeguards that serve as barriers to abuse, including:
ongoing mandatory youth protection education for all volunteers, parents, and Scouts;
a leader selection process that includes criminal background checks and other screening efforts;
a leadership policy which requires at least two youth-protection trained adults be present with youth at all times and prohibits one-on-one situations where adults would have any interactions alone with children – either in person, online, or via text;
prompt mandatory reporting to law enforcement of any allegation or suspicion of abuse;
a 24/7 Scouts First Helpline (1-844-SCOUTS1) and email address (scouts1st@scouting.org) to access counseling and help needed to report any suspected abuse or inappropriate behavior; and the Volunteer Screening Database – a tool the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for all youth-serving organizations – to bar individuals that should not be working with children from joining our programs.
We steadfastly believe that one incident of abuse is one too many and we are continuously improving all of our policies to prevent abuse.
That is precisely why we fully support and advocate for the creation of a national registry overseen by a governmental entity, similar to the national sex offender registry, of those who are suspected of child abuse or inappropriate behavior with a child, thus allowing all youth serving organizations to share and access such information. We call upon Congress and other youth-serving organizations to support this initiative.