Boy Scouts in Northern California Hit With Sexual Assault Lawsuit

The Sacramento Bee reports today that a northern California chapter of the Boy Scouts of America was sued by a former Eagle Scout.  (See story here).  According to the lawsuit, the Scouts knew or should have known that a former scout troop leader was committing lewd acts upon minors including the plaintiff (identified only as "John Doe").

This is another in a series of lawsuits alleging negligent supervision and retention by the Boy Scouts in California related to sex abuse of scouts.  A trial earlier this year in Santa Barbara resulted in a settlement after trial had commenced.

The allegations in this particular case are, unfortunately, all too familiar: A person of authority over children was able to gain trust and access to a minor and commit sexually perverse acts upon that child.  The individual perpetrator in question in this case has already been convicted of felony child molestation charges.  The lawsuit will need to be served upon the scouting organization and they will have 30 days in which to respond from the date of service based upon the civil procedural laws of the State of California.

I will continue to follow this case and apprise of developments.  It is very important to support victims of sexual assault to come forward and to seek out justice in the civil courts of California so that these issues can be raised and adjudicated and to encourage other, possible victims to come forward and report their abuse!


For more information on civil lawsuits related to sexual assault or abuse in California, visit our webpage .