BAYONNE (NJ)
NJ.com [Iselin, NJ]
September 1, 2026
By Mark Crawford
When the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled recently that the national Boys & Girls Clubs of America could not be held liable for decades-old sexual assaults allegedly committed by a youth counselor at its Jersey City affiliate, it did more than close the courthouse doors to survivors.
It established a precedent that could affect children across New Jersey who participate in youth programs, from the Boy Scouts and athletic organizations to colleges, universities and other institutions entrusted with their safety.
A question of accountability
The facts alleged in the case are deeply troubling. A counselor at the Jersey City Boys & Girls Club is accused of abusing children over a period of years, both at the club and in his home.
According to the survivors’ allegations, the abuse was not an isolated incident. It was a pattern that persisted over time under the banner of an organization whose mission is to protect and uplift young people.
Yet the court concluded that the national organization could not be held responsible for what occurred at one of its affiliated clubs.
That conclusion defies common sense, undermines accountability and sends a chilling message to survivors across New Jersey: If an institution is large enough, distant enough or legally insulated enough, it may escape responsibility entirely.
Implications beyond one organization
This is not merely a Boys & Girls Club case. It is a New Jersey issue that affects survivors of institutional abuse in many settings, including scouting organizations, school athletic programs, universities, youth treatment centers and other environments in which adults hold authority over children.
New Jersey has already seen waves of lawsuits alleging systemic abuse within child-serving institutions. The court’s ruling creates a roadmap for organizations to argue that they are too far removed from the actions of affiliates, even when they benefit from the reputation, branding and public trust those affiliates generate.
It invites institutions to distance themselves from oversight while continuing to enjoy the confidence of the communities they serve. It also leaves survivors facing uphill legal battles against fragmented entities that can point fingers at one another while avoiding responsibility.
Children deserve stronger protections
Any institution that works with children has an obligation to ensure that its employees, volunteers and representatives are not predators.
That obligation should not disappear because the abuse occurred decades ago. It should not disappear because an organization is national rather than local. And it should not disappear because a legal structure benefits the institution.
New Jersey has taken important steps to support survivors, including expanding the statute of limitations for civil sexual abuse claims. But those reforms mean little if courts create pathways that allow powerful organizations to avoid accountability.
This ruling is dangerous. It is ill-conceived. And it undermines protections New Jersey has worked to strengthen.
Survivors deserve better. Children deserve better. And New Jersey deserves institutions that cannot hide behind technicalities when the safety of young people is at stake.
A call for legislative action
The Legislature should review the implications of this decision immediately.
Lawmakers must ensure that national organizations operating in New Jersey, particularly those serving children, cannot evade responsibility for abuse that occurs under their umbrella. If the courts will not close this loophole, the Legislature must.
Because the message we send today will echo for decades: In New Jersey, protecting children matters more than protecting institutions.
Mark Crawford is New Jersey state director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.