Boy Scouts Bankruptcy Case Facing More Heat With Record-Number Child Sex Abuse Claims

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has experienced a decline in membership, something that led to them filing for bankruptcy or Chapter 11. However, there is more to the stories with child sex abuse allegations further adding a dark shadow on the plight of the national organization.

Things just got worse recently when nearly 90,000 individuals came out to file suits against the BSA. The filing of proof claim forms has escalated in recent weeks with a lot of abuse survivors looking to lay their claim. There were already about 63,000 of them last Friday and the numbers were expected to grow even more before the deadline last Nov. 16, USA Today reported.

The huge number has so far exceeded the figures that the BSA was expecting when they filed for bankruptcy in February. At that time, the organization was only facing 275 lawsuits in state and federal courts. This was aside from the 1,400 potential claims that went with it.

It is quite clear that the BSA is in a deep bind. In 2010, they faced civil litigation that resulted in $19.9 million in damages. It was the largest ever for a single individual against the organization. Also, this forced the Scouts to release more than 20,000 confidential documents which would, later on, be known as the “perversion files.”

“We are devastated by the number of lives impacted by past abuse in Scouting and moved by the bravery of those who came forward. … The response we have seen from survivors has been gut wrenching. We are deeply sorry,” the Boy Scouts said in a statement.

Things have sadly changed since the 1970s were there were almost over 4 million members in the organization. They are now fewer than 2 million with sexual abuse singled out as the reason behind it.

Most never came forward until now. That includes Gill Gayle who shared how he was sexually abused in 1970. He was a victim of two cases of abuse but stated that the incidents were unrelated.

The first one happened when he was still in sixth grade when a scoutmaster fondled him. That same person repeated the abuse over the months.

The second instance was worse, something that happened when he was in the eighth grade. He woke up at the second scoutmaster's house and was violently raped.

It was an ordeal that required him to undergo therapy to deal with depression, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. Now 58-years-old, Gayle says that it is quite common. He was among the 90,000 who filed against BSA.

“There’s nothing about me that’s the least bit unique,” he said. “There needs to be a face to this, not some abstract idea.”