Several Hudson Valley Boy Scout Leaders Accused of Sex Abuse
Local boy scout leaders are among 130 accused of sex abuse in New York State.
On Tuesday, the law firm of Anderson and Associates released information from the Boy Scouts of America's "perversion files." The internal filing system has been kept by the organization since the 1920s, documenting scout leaders that have been removed from their positions because of sexual abuse allegations.
According to the law firm, the Boy Scouts of America had "longstanding knowledge of child sexual abuse in scouting." Slowly, through litigation filed across the country, courts have ordered the public release of some of these Boy Scout files.
The list of 130 alleged sex abusers includes several scout leaders that served in the Hudson Valley. Among them is Edward D. Spear from Pack 63 in Goshen, Alexander Warwick from Narrowsburg, Tyrone Charles Hughes from Troop 123 in Suffern and James Arthur Fross from both Troop 58 in Red Hook and Troop 16 in Tivoli.
NBC News reports that the Boy Scouts of America responded to the release of names by making a statement saying that they "care deeply about all victims of child sex abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting.”
We believe victims, we support them, and we have paid for unlimited counseling by a provider of their choice. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children.
The Boy Scouts of America maintain that they never "knowingly allowed a sexual predator to work with youth, and we mandate that all leaders, volunteers and staff members nationwide immediately report any abuse allegation to law enforcement."
Anderson and Associates say that the secrecy of the "perversion files" shows that the scouts put other children at risk by protecting the privacy of scout leaders they believed were sexual predators.
A full list of the 130 scout leaders alleged to have engaged in sexual abuse is listed on the law firm's website.
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