Here’s Why N.J. May Be Hit with More Boy Scout Sex Abuse Lawsuits Than Any Other State

By Kelly Heyboer
NJ
October 13, 2019

https://www.nj.com/news/2019/10/heres-why-nj-may-be-hit-with-more-boy-scout-sex-abuse-lawsuits-than-any-other-state.html

Scott remembers he wasn’t feeling well when his mother dropped him off for his first camping trip with his Boy Scout troop back in the early 1960s.

But Scott, then 12, didn’t want a routine childhood illness to keep him from hiking in a beautiful canyon near Amarillo, Texas, and sleeping beneath the stars. One of his troop leaders assured his mother he would keep a close watch on him and have the boy share his tent, Scott recalls.

“That was the first night I was basically attacked and sexually abused,” said Scott, now 69, who asked that his last name not be used.

He says the sexual abuse that began in the tent that night continued for more than a year as he was abused by two Boy Scout leaders until he finally quit the group and moved away. Scared and confused, he says he never reported the alleged abuse.

Now, 57 years later, Scott says he’s coming to terms with how the alleged sexual abuse impacted his life. He’s considering filing a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America.

Though he is from Texas, his Scout leaders were from Texas and his alleged abuse happened in Texas, Scott is considering filing his civil lawsuit nearly 1,700 miles away-- in New Jersey.

Scott’s lawsuit could be one of a flood of lawsuits filed by out-of-state Boy Scout sexual abuse victims in Superior Court in Middlesex County after a state new law goes into effect Dec. 1.

The law lifts New Jersey’s statute of limitations and lets anyone claiming sexual abuse file a lawsuit against individuals or institutions -- including the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts of America -- no matter how long ago they were abused.

Though the new state law wasn’t designed for victims outside of New Jersey to file lawsuits, attorneys around the country have been say they have been lining up alleged Boy Scout victims to file suits in Middlesex County Superior Court because the Boy Scouts of America headquarters was located in Fidelity Plaza off Route 1 in North Brunswick from 1954 to 1978.

The attorneys say Boy Scout policies that allowed young boys to be abused by troop leaders and other volunteers were developed in the New Jersey headquarters -- so the lawsuits could be filed here. They also cite the so-called Boy Scout “Perversion Files” that detailed alleged abuse complaints dating back to the 1940s and were kept for a time at the New Jersey headquarters.

“The negligent decision making by the Scouts was made in New Jersey,” said Jason Amala, an attorney in Seattle who has represented hundreds of sexual abuse victims across the nation.

Amala said many of the alleged Boy Scout victims would prefer to file civil lawsuits in their own states, but their state laws have a statute of limitations on sexual abuse suits, so they can’t. Suing the Boy Scouts in New Jersey is akin to people from around the country suing Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey courts because the company is headquartered in New Brunswick, he said.

“Our view is this is really no different,” said Amala, who said his law firm has 30 or 40 cases from alleged victims around the country they plan to file in New Jersey after Dec. 1.

Jay Mascolo, an attorney in New Brunswick, said he is handling about 50 Boy Scout sexual abuse cases that could be filed in New Jersey. They include some cases from out-of-state attorneys who are partnering with him because he is licensed to file lawsuits in New Jersey.

“The negligence occurred here in New Jersey, and specifically here in Middlesex County,” Mascolo said.

Preparing for lawsuits

It is unclear how many Boy Scout lawsuits may be filed or whether judges will throw the cases out because the alleged abuse did not happen in New Jersey. Because the law is new, there is no precedent on how New Jersey judges might interpret it, the attorney said.

The Boy Scouts of America organization could be facing millions of dollars in potential settlements, similar to the situation the Catholic Church has faced nationwide in the wake of its own clergy sexual abuse crisis.

Some Catholic dioceses have been forced to declare bankruptcy under the weight of financial settlements for victims. The Boy Scouts have not said how they might handle the financial strain of a flood of lawsuits.

The Boy Scouts of America, now headquartered in Irving, Texas, is already facing multiple lawsuits in other states from victims. The organization, which has more than 2 million current boys and girls as members and nearly 900,000 adult volunteers, said it has instituted multiple safeguards to protect current Scouts from child abuse.

“Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in our Scouting programs -- it is our top priority," the Boy Scouts of America said in a statement.

In August, the Boy Scouts of America told the Associated Press they are considering “all options available so we can live up to our social and moral responsibility to fairly compensate victims who suffered abuse during their time in Scouting.”

Looking for accountability

Scott, the former Scout from Texas, said he is considering suing the Boy Scouts of America in New Jersey in part to hold the organization accountable for allegedly allowing adults access to young boys in the 1960s with few safeguards.

Files released as part of earlier lawsuits appear to show some Boy Scout officials knew of abuse claims against some Scout volunteers, but kept them secret.

“It appears to me that the Boy Scouts and top leadership knew many, many leaders were sexually abusing children,” said Scott, who now works as a sexual addiction counselor. “It’s about trying to show people sitting in that leadership position how seriously they need to take not only the thousands and thousands of those reports -- but even one report.”

Scott said he is undecided if he will use his full name in his lawsuit, or just his initials, an option that allows alleged victims to protect their anonymity in publicly-available documents.

New Jersey victims filing lawsuits

In addition to out-of-state victims, many current and former New Jersey residents say they will also be filing lawsuits against the Boy Scouts in December.

Tim, a former Bergen County resident now living out West, said he plans to be among the first to file on Dec. 1. He said his troop’s Scoutmaster began sexually abusing him in his sleeping bag on camping trips when he was 12 or 13 in the early 1980s.

“Every time, I’d roll over and pretend it wasn’t happening,” said Tim, now 48, who asked that his last name not be used.

Tim eventually told his father about the abuse in 1996, after the former Scout graduated from college. He filed a police report in Bergen County and said he was told by investigators that his former Scoutmaster confessed to abusing him and other boys, but too much time had passed to file criminal charges.

The man remained in Scouting for decades before his death a few years ago, Tim said.

Tim, now married with two children and working in the financial industry near Denver, said he hopes a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America will at least get his alleged abuser’s name on the record.

“I guess I (want)... some sort of recognition that this happened and some sort of closure. Not that it ever goes away,” Tim said.

Vincent Nappo, Tim’s attorney, said other alleged victims of the same Bergen County Scout leader are also considering lawsuits against the Boy Scout organization.

“It’s certainly a big question for us: How does this man continue to be in Scouting after Tim reported this?” said Nappo, whose firm represents about 200 alleged victims across the country.

A change in the law

Under New Jersey’s old law, victims only had two years after their 18th birthday or two years after memories of their abuse returned to them to file a civil lawsuit.

Under the state’s new law any victims who previously could not file a lawsuit because of the statute of limitations rules now have two years -- from Dec. 1, 2019, to Nov. 30, 2021 -- to file their cases, no matter how long ago they were abused.

After that, the law allows adults who were sexually assaulted as children to bring a civil suit up until they turn 55 or seven years after they say they discovered emotional and psychological problems linked to their abuse.

Boy Scout officials also urged anyone who was abused to report their abuse and seek counseling.

“The BSA also offers unlimited counseling with a provider of their choice to any youth member, former youth member, or the family of any youth member who suffered abuse during their time in Scouting. The BSA has a toll-free helpline (1-844-726-8871) and email contact address (scouts1st@scouting.org) for these sensitive matters," the organization said.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.