More Than 260 Pennsylvania Scout Officials are Accused of Abuse
For more information contact David Clohessy, Director, 314-566-9790 SNAPclohessy@aol.com
Barbara Dorris Outreach Director 314-862-7688 SNAPDorris@gmail.com
More than 260 Pennsylvania Scout officials are accused of abuse
Hundreds of long-secret files are released by victims' attorneys
SNAP applauds "wounded adults" who are "protecting others" by "exposing truth"
Group urges police and prosecutors to "scour the list" and "beg others to step forward"
More than 260 former Boy Scout officials across Pennsylvania are named as possible child molesters in long-secret documents that were disclosed yesterday because of successful child sex abuse lawsuits against the organization.
A list of the names is available at the Los Angeles Times website. They were released by attorneys in Oregon yesterday who represent victims of Scout staff and volunteers.
"This is the first time a nation-wide organization has been forced by brave victims and wise judges to disgorge their secrets about proven, admitted and credibly accused child sex offenders," said David Clohessy.
"Many of these crimes happened years ago, of course. But many of those who committed and concealed them are still around and walking free," said Barbara Dorris, SNAP's Outreach Director. "Law enforcement officials should use their skills, resources and 'bully pulpits' to urge victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward immediately so that at least some of these wrongdoers can be prosecuted."
"We applaud these brave men who found the courage to step forward, reveal their abuse and take legal action to help themselves and others. Virtually everything we know about the abuse and the cover-ups in scouting have been because of the victims not scouting officials," said Dorris.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested in many institutional settings, including Scouts, camps, schools and athletic programs. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, bblaine@snapnetwork.org), Peter Isely (414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com), Judy Jones, 636-433-2511, SNAPJudy@gmail.com
Judy Jones
9:48 pm on Friday, October 19, 2012
Child sex predators need to be kept far away from kids forever...
BUT, an even more powerful danger is when high ranking officials enable, empower, and cover up these crimes against kids. They need to be held accountable for allowing more innocent kids to be sexually abused. It is and was a crime to sexually abuse a child.
Child sex abuse thrives in secrecy and secret systems that allow it to continue to this day.
Keep in mind that child predators rarely have only one victim. So if you have been harmed by anyone in the Boy Scouts, church, or any institution, your silence only hurts, and by speaking up, contacting the police, and exposing the truth, there is a chance for healing, and protecting others.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511. snapjudy@gmail.com,
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests,) is the worlds oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims.
SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word priest in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc.
Ed M
9:15 am on Saturday, October 20, 2012
The title of this article is misleading. The people they are talking about are the volunteer adult leaders in Boy Scouts, not the paid Boy Scout employees. And being a Cubmaster and Scoutmaster and in other adult volunteer positions in my over 20 years in Boy Scouts, I am happy to say no one in the units I was involved in is on this list.