The Los Angeles Times reviewed 1,600 confidential Boy Scout files from 1970 to 1991. In many cases, the newspaper says, the organization covered up reports of abuse.
Read Boy Scouts helped alleged molesters cover tracks, files show, on LATimes.com.
- Menu
- Skip to right header navigation
- Skip to primary navigation
- Skip to main content
- Skip to primary sidebar
- Skip to footer
How to recognize and recover from everyday sociopaths - narcissists
Thank you for this post, Donna. What infuriates me about this is that so many “organizations” and groups engage in this frantic effort to cover up. Of course, it was prohibited for gay men (or, lesbians) to be involved in the Scouts, but enabling known (or, suspected) molesters to continue perpetrating their heinous crimes against children is inexcusable.
This also goes along with the abuses that children suffer in organized team sports like pee-wee football, T-ball, etc…I’ve seen how these coaches and teamates treat one another if they don’t knuckle-walk like everyone else, and it’s inhuman.
Golly, it’s a crazy world….
Brightest blessings
My son works for BSA and NOW at least in the council he works in there are STRICT rules and regulations about staff/scout interactions and reporting any abuses of these.
However, in Arkansas Charles “Jackie” Walls III was a 20 year scout leader who molested over the course of that period of time at least 1,500 (yep, fifteen hundred) kids. He was expelled several yars before his arrest, and the thing was “hushed up”—not sure what all the stuff was about on that thing, but he was expelled and told not to come around scouts or scouting, but no criminal procedures were instituted. Jackie went to a scout jamboree under an assumed name and had his photo taken there though AFTER being expelled.
Eventually, one of his victims “told” his parents and then Jackie ordered the kid to kill hhis family and the kid did so. OF course he was caught and he ratted Jackie out, and Jackie has “life without parole.”
He also molested his nephews, one of whom killed himself, and the DA said “if we could have asked for the death penalty we would have.”
I knew Jackie. I went to church with his wife and kids and his father, who was a judge was as honest a man as could be found in this world. The crimes committed by Jackie Walls make Sandusky look like a saint.
I think that the Jackie walls episode has made at least the Arkansas Scouts “sit up and take notice.”
I know that each year before the camp starts, my son and all staffers go through training about staff/camper interactions and no staff member is EVER to be ALONE with a camper…
Another man I know who was convicted of kiddie porn (but never actually touching a child) was an employee of a state park, working with kids. AFter he got out of prison he rejoined our living history group and was working with kids…most of the group didn’t know he had a history of kiddie porn…but I did due to knowing many of the state parks employees, and frankly the parks department did all it could to “hush up” the arrest of this man.
After he got out, I took it as my duty ot make sure that everyone he associated with knew his history and I sent copies of the PUBLIC INFORMATION about his arrest to his employer (a museum) and he was fired. I called his Parole Officer and told him taht if he did not get a handle on this man I would be on the governor’s steps screaming HIS name, not the name of the man! LOL
Every time this man changed jobs, always with children, I made sure his new employers knew about his record. Even still, he volunteered with a local museum until finally the director found out about his record.
Eventually the man killed himself. I feel sorry for his wife, who stayed with him through out the entire arrest, conviction, prison and parole.
Oh, and let us not forget Dickie Ray Chance, the minister at my little country church who was sending photos of his “junk” to what he thought was a 14 year old girl, but it turned out to be a 40 eyar old deputy sheriff. The church did their best to “hush up” the scandal. Of course I went to his court hearing, slapped him on the back and sat down behind him. Also made sure the local weekly newspaper carried it front page.
I think it behooves ALL groups that work with children especially to vet the back ground of everyone who works with the kids. I have a special hatred for child molesters and I think that is the duty of ALL groups to report, report REPORT!!!! even a possible molestation.
As a mandated reporter in my job, I have reported several situations that I was SURE a child had been molested, and not one of them resulted in a conviction, which is frustrating to me. But I will continue to do what I can when I can and I hope that everyone else that reads this is as irate as I am and will keep their eyes open for any sign of deviance.
Hi Ox,
Thank you so much for doing that. I once dated a man who had been molested as a young boy by his Scout Leader. He was pretty messed up about it. I must confess – I feel badly now – back in those days when he told me no-one had even heard about boys being molested (at least I sure hadn’t). I was sympathetic to him, and tried to comfort him, but didn’t really know what to say.
I keep thinking about him during all of the recent revelations (there was a similar expose in the last two years about Scouts Canada – and the pedophiles were sometimes shipped across the border either way as part of the cover-up).
He told me how it happened: that there had been a camping trip planned for his pack. He was so excited. His SL had told him and his parents that he was being given special duties – he’d be picked up first and dropped off last so that he could help to organize the other campers and make sure they were all packed in safely. He remembers how proud and happy he felt driving away from his home in the morning, his parents waving from the driveway. Turns out there were no other campers and he was alone with this guy all weekend. He remembered being dropped off afterward; his SL made it look like everything was perfectly normal and they’d had a wonderful trip, and that he’d done a wonderful job fulfilling his ‘role’. His parents were so happy to see him and so proud of him that he just didn’t see how it was possible to break their hearts to tell them. I also think his SL had told him that no-one would believe him – he was pretty sketchy about what happened during the weekend.
At the time he told me, he’d never told anyone about it before. I wish I’d known what to say. I think about him every time I hear about this on the news.
I was just talking to a guy who was in the boyscouts for years. He’s young, not 20 yet. I told him about this story. He said, “oh yeah, everyone knew that. we just avoided it. We knew.”
At first, I thought, “heck, why didn’t they report it?” Then I reailized, nobody would believe little kids. They do what they can to protect themselves. They’re just little kids.
Skylar, hell….people don’t believe ADULTS when they’ve been victimized by spaths! A kid doesn’t stand a chance.
When our world culture begins to disallow victim-blame and begins holding people accountable for their actions, regardless of their excuses, maybe we’ll see a decline in this type of behavior. Of course, Bad People will always exist, but it seems to me that they are excused of their actions and the victims bear the blame.
One of the most harrowing things that a child can endure (after being molested, that is) is to face their attackers and be forced to provide testimony against them. I cannot imagine what this does to a child’s psyche. Seriously, I can’t. And, defense attorneys are very cruel in their tactics and tend to emotionally gut the victims like a fish.
I read these articles and I have to wonder if human nature is too far gone for redemption. WTF is WRONG with people, anyway?!?!
Brightest blessings
As I was walking into a Starbucks this morning to buy my coffee, I saw a boy scout selling popcorn. Immediately, I thought ‘omg, I never want my son to be in the boy scouts.’ After all this negative media attention, I associate the boy scouts with child molestation and strange popcorn for sale outside of grocery stores. It’s a shame that predators hide in places like this because at its core the Boy Scouts has a good mission. That being said, I have a visceral reaction to them now and will not allow my son anywhere near a boy scouting event or troop.
cappiqueen – i went to Lowes today and the boyscout’s were out front selling something, an older man ( leader ) was screaming at them like step children – i got a very uneasy sick feeling… I am sure there are alot of good men involved with the BS but I relate with how u feel…
My son and a lot of GOOD men and women are involved in Scouts and I have seen the POSITIVE ROLE that they play in the development of kids (girls age 14-21 are involved in Explorer Scout programs) over a several year’s period. I was also acquainted with Charles “jackie” walls III who was in scouts for over 20 years and during that time molested over 1500 (yep, fifteen hundred) kids.
The scout leaders that I know are literally a “family” to some of these kids and some of the most caring people I know.
THAT SAID…if my kid were involved in Scouts or ANY OTHER activity, I would not just turn my kid over to the leaders, I would be involved myself. Back when my kids were young, I WAS involved in Scouts and that way I knew the other scout leaders and I knew my kid was safe. There are lots of moms who come to camp with their kids as adult leaders and lots of dads.
Scouts are just like churches, there are BAD preachers and priests…so you are never going to go to church again because the CAtholic church covered up for some priest, or some Baptist church covered up for some minister? Or never send your kid to school because there are teachers who have sex with students?
Damning Scouts and keeping kids away from it because of come cover ups in the past (note the dates on those cover ups) is I think throwing baby out with the bath water. I think whatever our kids are involved with, WE NEED TO BE VIGILANT! of who they are with as teachers and leaders of all kinds, as well as know the parents of their friends. The problems with ANY molesters is that the parents turn their kids over to the other person trusting too much.
If you are a parent/grandparent, read Dr. Anna Salter’s books starting with “Predators” and learn how to spot these people yourself. ACTIVE parents prevent molestation most of the time, but whatever we do we can’t keep our kids in a bubble away from all other people. We need to teach the kids to speak up,, and be active in their activities so we can watch out for them.
No one hates molesters any more than I do, but BEING a mentor and an active parent is the way to protect your kids.
I agree with you totally OX, I think the kid’s that are picked out by molester’s are the kid’s of parents that are not involved and use these organizations as baby sitters. We have to be involved and have conversations with our kids. But look what has happened in the catholic church, would you send your grandson off on a picnic with a priest?
Predators of children are keen and observant – attributes that would be better served in a Tasmanian Devil, but they can pick out the children who are damaged and needy. The kid isn’t in a clean uniform, they’re painfully shy, or whatever clues tell the predator that the child is neglected, abused, or damaged in some other way. They exploit those vulnerabilities to the Nth degree and take down their quarry with gleeful anticipation. I cannot – in my wildest nightmares – imagine how this crime destroys a child so thoroughly, and predators of children are incurable and, therefore, should be taken out of society, entirely. Either put them on an island or something else, but these types of predators destroy the most innocent of all targets, and it makes me absolutely sick that they go to prison, eat three meals a day, have clothing and medical care provided, have a “job” within the prison, and so forth.
Hens, when I used to work craft shows and demonstrate my craft over the weekends, parents would leave their children in my booth to watch what I was doing – for hours. Some of these kids were the offspring of other crafters, and they’d foist these poor kids off on other vendors instead of taking responsibility for them. These kids would have been PERFECT targets for predators or children, and people just don’t seem to “get it.”
Oy-vey….
Brightest blessings