CBS: 5,100 Boy Scout leaders removed for abuse

David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Wednesday August 29, 2007





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CBS News reported Tuesday on "disturbing revelations" regarding the Boy Scouts, saying that "over the last 60 years, at least 5,100 adult leaders were kicked out of the Scouts because of allegations of sexual abuse."

That figure emerged as the result of a lawsuit against the Scouts by two brothers, who told CBS they were abused throughout their entire childhoods by an assistant scoutmaster who has since acknowledged his guilt.

"Thousands of secret Boy Scout files ... were turned over to the brothers' attorney" as a result of the suit, CBS reported, and the attorney told CBS his analysis showed troop leaders were being tossed out for suspected abuse every three days before 1991 and every 2 days since then.

The Boy Scouts insist that these numbers represent only a tiny percentage of scoutmasters, and the organization now requires criminal background checks and has instituted educational policies intended to prevent abuse. Despite the increased scrutiny, the head of the Scouts' child abuse prevention program was convicted in 2005 of trafficking in child pornography.

The following video is from CBS's Evening News, broadcast on August 28.





