Editor's note: The video above is from April 2019.
A lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America claims lawyers have found 350 alleged sexual abusers who aren't listed in the organizations' own disciplinary files, USA TODAY reported. Among them: respected members of their communities including police officers, military members, doctors, teachers and a mayor.
The suit, filed Monday night, is on behalf of a scout who claims his former scoutmaster gave him drugs and alcohol before sexually abusing him.
The lawyers claim the new list is an indication the Scouts either did not properly vet its volunteers or that it hid the extent of the scandal.
“It is apparent that the Boy Scout Defendants continue to hide the true nature of their cover-up and the extent of the pedophilia epidemic within their organizations because the vast majority of new victims coming forward involve claims of abuse at the hands of pedophiles who are not yet identified by the Boy Scouts of America,” the complaint reportedly reads.
According to USA TODAY, about two dozen of the alleged abusers were kicked out of the scouts.
The report outlines some graphic details of the alleged abuse, which happened in the wilderness, cars and even the victims' homes.
The Boy Scouts of America responded to USA TODAY, saying it aggressively works to respond to reports of sexual abuse and that it encourages victims to come forward.
“Upon receipt of this information from the group of plaintiff’s attorneys, we immediately investigated the limited information provided and our efforts have already resulted in approximately 120 reports to law enforcement. We are continuing to manually search old paper records at the local level and will continue to notify law enforcement as additional individuals are," the statement from the Boy Scouts reportedly said.
