Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life.
Better life. >>> 800 VICTIMS, THAT STAGGERING
NUMBER JUST PART OF THE GRUELING
DETAILS OUTLINED IN A NEW
LAWSUIT AGAINST THE BOY SCOUTS
OF AMERICA.
OF AMERICA. >> LAWYERS FOR A GROUP CALLED
ABUSED IN SCOUTING CLAIMED
TUESDAY THAT BOY SCOUTS ARE
CONTINUING TO COVER UP A, QUOTE,
PEDOPHELIA EPIDEMIC.
PEDOPHELIA EPIDEMIC. THOSE ATTORNEYS SAY THEY HAVE
IDENTIFIED 350 PRAEF YOUSLY
UNKNOWN SCOUT MASTERS AND
VOLUNTEERS WHO ALLEGEDLY PREYED
UPON UNDER AGE BOYS WITHIN THE
ORGANIZATION.
ORGANIZATION. >> IN RESPONSE BOY SCOUTS OF
AMERICA SAID THIS, IN PART.
QUOTE, WE CARE DEEPLY ABOUT ALL
VICTIMS OF ABUSE AND SINCERELY
APOLOGIZE TO ANYONE WHO WAS
HARMED DURING THEIR TIME IN
SCOUTING.
SCOUTING. WE BELIEVE VICTIMS.
WE SUPPORT THEM.
WE PAY FOR COUNSELING BY A
PROVIDER OF THEIR CHOICE AND WE
ENCOURAGE THEM TO COME FORWARD.
>> JOINING US NOW ONE OF THE
ATTORNEYS FOR ABUSED IN
SCOUTING, WHO HAS SUED BOY
SCOUTS OF AMERICA MORE THAN 100
TIMES.
TIMES. TIM, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
FIRST, LET’S GO TO THESE 350 NEW
ALLEGED PREDATORS.
ALLEGED PREDATORS. THEIR NAMES WERE NOT KNOWN TO
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND WERE NOT IN
THE ORGANIZATION’S INTERNAL DATA
BASE OF INELIGIBLE VOLUNTEERS.
THE ORGANIZATION INSISTS THE
INTERNAL DATA BASE, IN PART, IS
TO KEEP SEXUAL ABUSERS OUT OF
SCOUTING, NOT HIDE THE NAMES
FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT.
WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO ALL OF
THIS?
THIS? >> WELL, THAT’S FALSE.
NUMBER ONE.
NUMBER ONE. BUT NUMBER TWO, IF THAT WAS THE
PURPOSE IT WAS AN UTTER FAILURE,
BECAUSE WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS
ESSENTIALLY DONE A
CRIMINALOGICAL SURVEY AND THE
350 HIDDEN PREDATORS ARE STILL
JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
WE HAVE ANOTHER 150 NAMES WHERE
WE ONLY HAVE PARTIAL
IDENTIFICATIONS.
IDENTIFICATIONS. AND WHAT WE FIND IS THAT NINE
OUT OF TEN OF THE MEN CONTACTING
US ARE IDENTIFYING PERPETRATORS
THAT DO NOT APPEAR IN THE BOY
SCOUTS PERVERSION FILES AND HAVE
FOR THE MOST PART NEVER BEEN
PUBLICLY IDENTIFIED BEFORE AS
ABUSERS.
ABUSERS. SO THESE ARE THE REAL HIDDEN
PREDATORS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
IT’S ONLY BECAUSE OF THE COURAGE
OF OUR CLIENTS COMING FORWARD
AND SHARING THEIR STORIES AND
IDENTIFYING THEIR ABUSERS THAT
WE NOW KNOW ABOUT THESE
ADDITIONAL PEOPLE.
ADDITIONAL PEOPLE. THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA’S FILE
SYSTEM IS, YOU KNOW, LIKE
CLOSING THE BARN DOOR AFTER THE
HORSE IS OUT OF THE BARN.
>> TIM, DRAW US A PICTURE.
>> IT’S REACTIVE.
>> DRAW US A PICTURE OF WHAT THE
CHARACTERISTICS WERE OF THESE
ABUSES.
ABUSES. WAS THERE A PATTERN?
WAS THERE A WAY IN WHICH IT
HAPPENED THAT WOULD INDICATE
SYSTEMATIC ACCEPTANCE OF THIS BY
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA?
>> LET ME PUT IT INTO THE
SIMPLEST WAY I CAN, WHICH IS,
WOULD YOU ENTRUST YOUR SON TO AN
ORGANIZATION THAT SENDS HIM
ALONE OUT IN THE WOODS ON
OVERNIGHTS WITH A MAN THAT YOU
KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT?
THAT YOU’VE TRUSTED THAT THIS
PERSON IS GOING TO BE VETTED
BECAUSE IT’S, AFTER ALL, THE BOY
SCOUTS OF AMERICA.
BUT IN REALITY, THERE’S BEEN NO
VETTING.
VETTING. THE VETTING THAT WAS DONE WAS BY
MOM AND DADS WHO DON’T KNOW HOW
TO REALLY DO A PROPER VETTING.
THEY HAVE NO SUPPORT FROM BOY
SCOUTS OF AMERICA.
AND SO IT WAS SO EASY FOR
PERPETRATORS TO INFILTRATE THIS
ORGANIZATION AND GET ACCESS TO
CHILDREN.
CHILDREN. >> BUT COULD THAT MEAN THAT THE
ORGANIZATION WAS VERY WEAK, THAT
COULD BE DIFFERENT THAN THE
ORGANIZATION HAVING A MASSIVE
COVER-UP.
COVER-UP. >> WELL, HERE’S THE RUB.
THEY’VE KNOWN ABOUT THIS FOR A
HUNDRED YEARS.
HUNDRED YEARS. THEY’VE BEEN QUIETLY REMOVING
THEM ONE EVERY OTHER DAY SINCE
1916.
1916. THERE ARE NOT 8,000 FILES.
THERE WERE PROBABLY SOMEWHERE IN
THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 50,000
PERVERSION FILES.
PERVERSION FILES. BUT SINCE THEY DESTROYED A
MASSIVE AMOUNT OF THEM IN THE
1970s WE DON’T KNOW HOW MANY
THERE WERE.
THERE WERE. BUT IF YOU DO COUNT UP THE RATE,
YOU COME UP WITH 40,000 OR
50,000 FILES AND THEN YOU HAVE
TO MULTIPLY THAT BY NINE BECAUSE
THAT’S THE RATE AT WHICH PEOPLE
COMING FORWARD ARE IDENTIFYING
NEW ABUSERS.
NEW ABUSERS. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF
ABUSERS, PROBABLY STILL LIVING,
MAYBE THEY’VE MOVED ON TO OTHER
YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS.
YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS. AND WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT THE
FBI SAYS THAT THE ABUSER HAS ON
AVERAGE A HUNDRED VICTIMS OVER A
LIFETIME OF OFFENDING, WE’RE
TALKING ABOUT MILLIONS OF BOYS
WHO WERE ABUSED IN THIS
ORGANIZATION.
ORGANIZATION. THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA SAYS
THAT THEY’VE HAD OVER 120
MILLION CHILDREN IN THEIR
PROGRAM SINCE THEY WERE FOUNDED.
>> WOW.
>> WOW. >> SO THIS IS NOT NEW.
WHAT IS NEW IS THE MAGNITUDE OF
IT AND THE FACT THAT THE BOY
SCOUTS DESPITE THEIR BEST
EFFORTS TO TRY AND KEEP THIS
SECRET, TO MINIMIZE IT, TO HIDE
IT FROM THE PUBLIC, THE EVIDENCE
IS NOW COMING IN AND IT’S
OVERWHELMING.
OVERWHELMING. WE WERE CONTACTED AFTER OUR
PRESS CONFERENCE IN ONE DAY BY
4700 MEN WHO SAW NEWS STORIES
ABOUT WHAT WE WERE SAYING AND
HAVE CONTACTED US TO TELL US
THEIR STORIES ABOUT ABUSED IN