Can I Sue in California If I Was Sexually Assaulted by Boy Scouts of America?

Yes, you can sue the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in California if a BSA employee or volunteer sexually assaulted you.

California organizations can be held financially liable for sexual assaults their employees commit when the organization's hiring, supervision or retaining of the employee is deemed to be negligent.

People and organizations are considered negligent under California law when they:

• Do what a reasonably careful person wouldn't do in the same situation, or,

• Don't do what a reasonably careful person would do in the same situation.

California plaintiffs must prove the following in order to recover sexual assault damages from those who employed the culprit:

• The employee was hired by the employer;

• The employee was unfit or incompetent or became incompetent or unfit to do the job they were hired to do;

• The employer was aware or should have been aware that the employee was unfit or incompetent or became incompetent or unfit and a risk to others was created by this;

• The incompetence or unfitness of the employee caused harm to the plaintiff;

• Negligence by the employer in retaining, supervising or hiring the employee was a substantial reason why the plaintiff was harmed.

Boy Scouts Perversion Files

A child sex abuse expert said BSA files known as the "perversion files" contain 7,819 names of volunteers who have been accused of the sexual abuse of children and the names of 12,254 victims. This expert reviewed files spanning the years from 1944 to 2016. Over 14,500 pages of these files, spanning the years from 1965 to 1985, were publicly released in 2012. 432 names of alleged California pedophiles were listed in these files.

The files contain evidence that pressure from local Scouts officials led to people who allegedly sexually assaulted children continuing to serve BSA even after BSA became aware of the allegations against them.

The BSA Youth Protection mission statement says that "all persons involved in Scouting" must report any child sexual abuse that they suspect to local authorities, and the BSA youth protection pamphlet states, "All persons involved in BSA programs must report any instance of child abuse to local law enforcement... " Despite this, the files demonstrate that around 1/3 of sexual assault allegations BSA became aware of were not ever reported to law enforcement.

BSA's mission statement says, "The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law." The "perversion files," however, suggest that BSA may not have always been making the best ethical and moral choices themselves.

A Scouts executive wrote in a letter in the files, "This subject and Scouts were not prosecuted to save the name of Scouting," referring to a scoutmaster who confessed to the sexual abuse of three minors. Charges were never filed against this scoutmaster.

Another Scouts executive wrote in a letter in the files, "I would like to let this case drop... one father has threatened legal action which could only injure the Boy Scouts of America. My personal opinion in this particular case is, 'If it don't stink, don't stir it.'"

BSA Bankruptcy

The existence of the "perversion files" was first noticed when a 2010 BSA lawsuit's jury ruled that BSA failed to protect a child who was molested by an assistant scoutmaster in the early '80s. That victim ended up being awarded $18.5 million. This set off a wave of BSA lawsuits, and increasing legal costs eventually forced BSA to file for bankruptcy in February 2020.

"The Boy Scouts of America is committed to fulfilling our social and moral responsibility to equitably compensate victims who suffered abuse during their time in scouting, while also ensuring that we carry out our mission to serve youth, families and local communities for years to come," said the BSA release about the bankruptcy. "In order to meet these dual objectives, the national organization has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Our plan is to use this Chapter 11 process to create a trust that would provide equitable compensation to victims. Scouting will continue throughout this process and for many years to come."

No deadline has yet been set for filing claims against BSA, but a bankruptcy judge may set such a deadline in the future. It is important to file a claim now if you were sexually assaulted by BSA for this reason.

Jeffrey Nadrich is the managing partner of Nadrich & Cohen, LLP, a California personal injury law firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Modesto, Tracy, Fresno and Palm Desert. The firm has recovered over $350,000,000 on behalf of clients since 1990 and its lawyers have over 70 years of combined legal experience. For more information on BSA lawsuits, visit https://www.personalinjurylawcal.com/boy-scout-sexual-abuse-molestation/

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