Five new child sexual abuse lawsuits were filed against the Boy Scouts of America in Westchester County last month, as claims pile up against the organization.
The Boy Scouts has deflected reports it’s considering bankruptcy under the weight of possible legal settlements and court judgments across the country.
The group is facing questions over long-secret “perversion files” of suspected and known abusers. Attorneys in many suits are accusing the scouts of setting up a system that protected pedophiles from justice and put children in direct contact with sexual predators.
One lawsuit filed in Westchester’s state Supreme Court on Aug. 13 by White Plains attorney James R. Marsh said the organization tried to protect its reputation rather than its members.
“The result is not surprising: for decades thousands of children were sexually abused by Boy Scout leaders, volunteers, and members,” the suit stated.