Boy Scouts To Sell Campgrounds To Pay $850-Million Settlement For Sex Abuse Victims Amid Bankruptcy Woes

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has listed three of its New York campgrounds on the market to defray some $850 million in payouts, doubling its initial offer of compensation to about 60,000 sexual abuse victims in its ongoing bankruptcy case, officials confirmed late Thursday.

The national organization will cover the $250 million as local councils of the BSA fund the remaining $600 million. The Greater Hudson Valley Council has since put up its campsites in Rockland, Dutchess, and Putnam counties for sale to settle its portion of the payouts, according to the New York Post.

In a statement, BSA said their decision to bring councils together is part of their efforts toward equitably compensating the survivors of abuse. The organization said the move would preserve the mission of scouting.

The $850 million offer comes more than a year after the nonprofit group filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 following being hit with 275 abuse lawsuits and 1,400 potential claims. The victims asserted they were molested as youngsters decades ago by scoutmasters or other leaders.

By November 2020, the number of claims had swelled to nearly 90,000, paving the way to become among the biggest sex abuse cases against a single national organization in history, USA Today noted.

“To ensure we are best positioned to continue serving local youth, families, and communities for years to come, the Boy Scouts of America Greater Hudson Valley Council has made the difficult decision to list some camp properties for sale,” the Greater Hudson Valley Council said in a statement.

The move may also potentially affect one or more properties, which includes Camp Bullowa, Durland Scout Reservation, and Camp Nooteeming, it added. The Greater Hudson Valley Council has not yet moved to finalize any sale, continuing their operations at the campsites for the summer 2021 season.

The organization aims to retain at least one of the campgrounds recently posted on the market depending on the value needed to fund the Greater Hudson Valley Council's share to the survivor’s compensation trust, which is part of the larger national organization’s bankruptcy process.

The council remained tight-lipped with the exact amount they will be handing out to abuse victims but labeled it a non-negotiable multimillion-dollar payment. Leaders have since vowed to exhaust all means to vote on the best solution that will pay their debt and point their tarnished reputation toward a better future.

Ken Rothweiler, a legal representative for at least 16,000 survivors, noted in a statement that the $850 million payouts serve as the largest settlement of sexual abuse claims in United States history.

"I am pleased that both the BSA and their local councils have stepped up to be the first to compensate the survivors," he said. “This is the tip of the iceberg. Now we go after the next step and see what happens with the insurers.”

However, some abuse survivors and their advocates expressed outrage by Friday following the recent announcement, according to Insurance Journal.

Lawyer Irwin Zalkin, who represents about 150 survivors, called the decision "reprehensible," noting that many questions remain unanswered.

“I think it’s a disservice to the victims to put out a media release saying they’ve reached an agreement for $850 million, especially the way they’re taking a victory dance about it,” he said.

Southern California accountant Chris Anderson slammed the lack of information regarding council finances. He said the payout provides no certainty for the survivors, including himself. The professional claims he was abused by a Boy Scout troop leader in the 1970s.

Membership in the BSA has significantly crashed since 2019, down to less than 770,000 from more than 1.9 million scouts listed in its two flagship programs.