Boy Scouts Of America Using Bankruptcy To Create Victims Compensation Trust
Feb 18, 2020, 1:32 PM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy as part of an effort to help victims who say they were sexually abused by Scout leaders. The national organization is using the Chapter 11 process to create a victims compensation trust.
The decision came as the 110-year-old program faces a barrage of new sex abuse lawsuits. Filing for Chapter 11 not only helps the BSA compensate victims, but it also allows it to continue Scouting throughout the U.S.
Local councils are separate organizations and won’t be affected, leaders said.
“The Trapper Trails Council has not filed for bankruptcy,” according to a statement from Allen Endicott, Scout executive for the Trapper Trails Council. “Meetings and activities, district and council events, other Scouting adventures and countless service projects are taking place as usual. In short, there should be no change to the local Scouting experience.”
The national organization’s bankruptcy could be incredibly complex as lawyers seek settlements on behalf of several thousand men who said they were molested as boys by Scout leaders.
Jim Turley, the national chair of the Boy Scouts of America, wrote an open letter to victims on behalf of himself and the Scouting community.
“The BSA cannot undo what happened to you, but we are committed to supporting you and to doing everything in our power to prevent it from happening to others,” the letter reads in part. “It is a social and moral responsibility that I and the entire organization take extremely seriously.”
Turley also wrote that the organization believes the victims and wants them to come forward.
The BSA has partnered with 1in6, a nonprofit organization that provides support to male survivors of sexual abuse.
