UNITED STATES
The Imperfect Parent
September 17th, 2012 by Ella Desrosiers
According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the Boy Scouts of America’s confidential internal files revealed that the organization failed to report hundreds of child sex abuse cases to authorities over a period of twenty years.
The Los Angeles Times obtained over 1,600 of the scouting organization’s documents dating from 1971-1991. In those documents, BSA officials urged admitted child molesters to quietly resign and helped to cover their tracks with the parents and community.
Many that resigned cited unusual reasons for leaving the organization, such as “chronic brain dysfunction” and duties at a Shakespeare festival. …
The records do, however, say that the boy was then counseled by the Rev. Edmond C. Micarelli, the camp’s Catholic chaplain, with “positive results.” Unfortunately, Micarelli himself ended up in the “perversion files” after a different man told officials that he and his brother were raped by Micarelli when they were young boys.
In 2002, 36 victims sued Micarelli and 10 other priests over sexual abuse dating as far back as 1975, resulting in a judgment against the Diocese of Providence for $13.5 million.
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