Boy Scouts Executive Questioned In Abuse Trial

By Amelia Templeton | March 30, 2010 7:53 p.m. | Updated: June 16, 2010 11:56 p.m. | Portland, OR

Attorneys questioned an executive of the Boy Scouts of America in a Multnomah county courtroom yesterday. They asked him why the Boy Scouts kept secret their records of sexually abusive scout leaders. The questions came in a lawsuit brought by a man molested more than 20 years ago as a child scout. The central question is whether the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America knew there was pattern of abuse and didn’t do enough about it. Nate Marshall is a representative of the Boy Scouts of America. On the stand he said that in the past, scout leaders who had molested boys were usually kicked out. But some were put on probation and continued to abuse boys. Attorney Paul Mones argued that the Boy Scout organization did not tell parents about abusive scout leaders. He asked Marshall three times if child abuse had been a problem within the scouts. Marshall did not answer directly. He did say that the Boy Scouts of America believe abuse is serious.

© 2010 OPB

Share this article

Discuss

blog comments powered by Disqus

Become a sponsor