Boy Scouts of America to begin paying $2.4 billion to over 82,000 sexual abuse victims

After emerging from bankruptcy, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) reached a settlement to pay over 82,000 abuse victims using a massive trust fund.

According to CNN, the Victims Compensation Trust was established after a Delaware judge approved the plan in 2022 during the BSA's bankruptcy reorganization.

Over $2.4 billion will be used to pay out to over 82,000 victims who claim they were sexually abused as children by the organization's leaders and volunteers. The sum represents approximately $30,000 per person.

“This is a significant milestone for the BSA as we emerge from a three-year financial restructuring process with a global resolution approved with overwhelming support of more than 85% of the survivors involved in the case,” said chief scout executive, president, and CEO Roger Mosby.

“Our hope is that our Plan of Reorganization will bring some measure of peace to survivors of past abuse in Scouting, whose bravery, patience and willingness to share their experiences has moved us beyond words,” his statement read.

The BSA faced 275 filed lawsuits in 2022 and was aware of many other potential cases from the thousands of men who filed claims.

At the time, Attorney Jeff Anderson, whose firm represented more than 800 alleged abuse survivors, said his clients felt that in some states the organization “hid behind the statute of limitations.”

In total, over two dozen law firms represented more than 70,000 of the victims, forming the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice.

The coalition said it was the largest sexual abuse settlement fund in history. Co-Founder Adam Slater also applauded the court for “bringing survivors one step closer to justice.”

“After years of protracted bankruptcy proceedings and decades of suffering in silence, tens of thousands of survivors of childhood sexual assault will now receive some tangible measure of justice,” Slater announced.

“Even more important, it means that the safety measures and protections for current and future Scouts included in the Plan will also be put into place – and we know that for many survivors, this has been the highest priority,” Slater added.

Some new protocols have indeed been put in place by the BSA to "act as barriers to abuse." These include mandatory youth protection training for volunteers and employees, criminal background checks for adult staff, a ban on adults being alone with one child, and at least two youth-protection trained adults present at all scouting activities.

There is yet to be any tangible evidence measuring the effectiveness of these protocols.

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