Rex Fowler and Chance Trammell
Staff writers
Facing a wave of lawsuits over sexual abuse allegations, the Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy Tuesday in an effort to protect the future of the embattled century-old organization. Filing for bankruptcy will help the Boy Scouts to continue operating as it reorganizes their finances and creates a trust to pay hundreds of potential victims.
Over the past decade, lawsuits, investigations, and media reports have revealed internal Boy Scouts documents detailing generations of alleged abusers accused of preying on Scouts.
An investigator hired by the BSA said last year that her team had identified 12,254 victims in internal documents from 1946 through 2016.
Among other high profile, child abuse scandals and the MeToo movement, several states, and the district have overhauled laws on child sexual abuse, opening the door to sums of potential lawsuits against the Boy Scouts.
Experts drew parallels between the Boy Scouts and other troubling companies that have used bankruptcy to handle costly lawsuits over abuse allegations. The Boy Scouts of America said no local council assets will be directly affected by the filing, and the national organization is working to protect local councils’ interests. It is similar to when the Catholic Church filed for bankruptcy rather than individual parishes. As more news sources came clear only the center for the BSA based in Texas will be affected but individual troops in other states around the country will not be affected.
