The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has reached a record settlement for $850 million. There are more than 84,000 victims who are claiming they were sexually abused while they were boy scouts. This is the largest child sexual abuse case in the U.S.
The details of the settlement were made public on Thursday with the release of the court documents. Both volunteers and scout leaders since the 1960s are being accused of abuse.
The organization filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2020. This is mainly due to the BSA’s rising legal costs. And anticipating that the settlement would be massive.
“This agreement will help local councils make their contributions to the Trust without an additional drain on their assets, and will allow them to move forward with the national organization toward emergence from bankruptcy,” the Scouts organization statement confirmed on Thursday.
Philadelphia-based attorney Ken Rothweiler, representing 16,800 claimants, is pleased with the settlement. And he also notes that insurance rights for the past 40 years will be held in a trust controlled by the survivor’s group. This could add billions more to be divided amongst the victims.
