Although the details remain undisclosed, a final settlement has been reached in six of the cases pending against the Boy Scouts of America over the molestation of the plaintiffs when they were Scouts. The settlement brings closure to the cases from Oregon lead by the trial for plaintiff Kerry Lewis. Mr. Lewis and the other plaintiffs were members of the same scout troop in Oregon in the 1980s.
Kerry Lewis told reporters he was “glad this is over,” reported the New York Times. Lewis’s trial had resulted in jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff and awarded him $19.9 million in damages last April. During the trial, a former assistant troop leader, Timur Dykes, admitted to molesting the then 12 year-old Lewis. Other evidence reported at the time of the trial concerned the so-called “perversion files” kept by the organization as a record of potential abusers.
Deron Smith, a spokesman for the Scouts, said the organization was “deeply saddened by the events in these cases” and offered the Scouts’ sympathies to the victims. Smith says the Boy Scouts have taken steps to improve a youth protection program and to provide a safer environment for its scouts.
Lawyers for Kerry Lewis, Kelly Clark and Paul Mones, are currently representing more than a dozen other former scouts in abuse cases around the country.
Related Resources:
- 6 Ore. men settle Boy Scout sex abuse cases (AP)
- Sex Offenders and Sex Offenses: Overview (FindLaw)
- Molestation Suits vs the Mormon Church, Boy Scouts (FindLaw’s Injured)
- The Maturing of a Movement: Statute of Limitations Reform for Sex Abuse Victims (FindLaw’s Writ)
- Elements of Damages in Injury Cases (provided by Casper & de Toledo LLC)
- Arizona Court Rules Excessive Punitive Damages Unconstitutional (provided by Kinerk, Schmidt & Sethi, PLLC)
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