(New York, NY) - On Tuesday, August 20, 2019, in Manhattan, Robins Kaplan LLP will announce the filing of nine lawsuits against the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Greater New York Council, and/or Theodore Roosevelt Council, on behalf of survivors who allege that they were sexually abused as minors by adult Scout leaders. The lawsuits will bring negligence claims made possible by New York’s Child Victims Act, which opened a one-year window to allow survivors to bring civil claims regardless of when the abuse occurred. The window opened on August 14, 2019.
In addition to the nine negligence claims, one of the lawsuits also pursues an additional claim of nuisance. According to the allegations in the complaint, BSA has created and continues to maintain a nuisance by concealing sexual abuse of scouts by its present and former leaders in its secret Perversion Files. For nearly 100 years, the complaint alleges, BSA has concealed from the public these files, which contain information and documents on Scout leaders with allegations of sexual misconduct against children.
In May 2019, Robins Kaplan filed a similar nuisance claim in New Jersey state court on behalf of a New Jersey survivor of child sex abuse from an adult Scout leader. Both lawsuits discuss that BSA sponsored a review of all BSA Ineligible Volunteer files (which include Perversion Files). In January 2011, defense expert Dr. Janet Warren revealed for the first time that she reviewed these files and found an astounding 7,819 Boy Scout sexual misconduct perpetrators and 12,254 victims from 1944 to 2016. It is unknown how many of the 7,819 perpetrators BSA has disclosed publicly.
Defendants named in the lawsuits include the national organization of BSA and if known, the sponsoring organization and the local council (i.e., Greater New York Council or Theodore Roosevelt Council). Some of the plaintiffs have chosen to file using their names, and others have made the decision to file their name using a pseudonym, which is their option as plaintiffs alleging sexual abuse. Robins Kaplan is committed to protecting the privacy of their clients to the full extent permitted by law.
The press conference was held at:
Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at 1 p.m. EST
Courtyard by Marriott New York Manhattan/Central Park
1717 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Room: Belvedere Room
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