Mormons, Boy Scouts Sued for Sexual Abuse of Minors

Four men sued the Boy Scouts of America and its largest sponsor, the Mormon Church, on Monday accusing both organizations of failing to protect them from sexual abuse by adult volunteers when they were children at scouting activities in Idaho.

Three of the men said they were abused as members of Boy Scout troops affiliated with the Utah-based church, two of them by a scout leader previously identified as a molester in a complaint brought by a parent.

The fourth plaintiff belonged to a troop sponsored by a chapter of the Elk Club, which was not named as a defendant in the suit.

All the cases of abuse alleged in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Boise, the state capital, occurred in the early 1980s and 1970s, when the plaintiffs ranged in age from 12 to 14.

Two of the three accused abusers in the lawsuit--both of whom were linked with the Mormon-sponsored troops--were later convicted of sex crimes against children and are now living as registered sex offenders, court records show.

The lawsuit is the latest in a torrent of court cases in numerous states accusing the Boy Scouts of failing to provide adequate safeguards against pedophiles using the organization to prey on children whose parents were led to believe scouting was safe. (more...)

Mormons, Boy Scouts Sued for Sexual Abuse of Minors