Boy scout official says bankruptcy filing won’t impact local troops, child safeguards are in place
The Boy Scouts of America national organization is urging victims to come forward after filing for bankruptcy protection -- facing a flood of new sexual abuse lawsuits. Thousands of men are now seeking settlements, saying they were molested as boys by scout leaders.
Scout leaders said the filing won't impact local troops, packs and councils for hundreds of kids here in the greater Coachella Valley.
"It's reassuring that the awesome programs that we've come to be used to are going to continue," said Sarie Gonzalves, a mother to five boys of which four are members of boy scout programs.
She said the programs help to reinforce principles she and her husband try to teach at home.
"The scout laws are that they're trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent, and those are all values that we really want to see installed in our kids," she said.
"It changed my life," said D.J. Gonzalves, an Eagle Scout with Troop 1701. "It's given me so many opportunities to try new things. I got so many great experiences from it."
District Commissioner Joe Riordan said the filing will not affect local programs. Rather, he said, it's aimed at keeping the national organization intact, and setting up a fund for victims, and that the sexual abuse claims are not a reflection of the organization.
"Individuals that were in the leadership roles took advantage of their positions," Riordan said.
The Boy Scouts of America say roughly 90 percent of the abuse cases happened decades ago -- and new protections are now in place.
"When you first enter, you're taught to at all times not be around just one adult, try to be around two," D.J. Gonzalves said.
"Boy Scouts of America has done a phenomenal job of really cleaning it up and getting background checks and making sure that not only the parents and the leaders are trained, but also that the children are trained on what to look for to tell if something's going wrong and even to look out for each other," Sarie Gonzalves said.
In a statement Tuesday, scout executive of California Inland Empire Council Scouting said in part, "While we do not anticipate the national organization’s bankruptcy filing will have any direct impact on the local Scouting experience or your involvement with our Council, I understand you may still have questions about these issues and things you will see in the news. To that end, the national organization has established a dedicated restructuring website, www.BSArestructuring.org."
