OTTAWA, Canada – CBC's Investigative Unit researched newspaper clippings, online publications and court records to catalogue cases of sexual abuse involving active or former scout leaders.To date, CBC have catalogued nearly 80 cases where scout leaders, or former scout leaders, have been involved in sexual misconduct incidents ranging from sexual assault to possession of child pornography. Most of these cases include criminal convictions, however we have also included some civil litigation cases. In one instance, we include a new allegation from a victim who spoke to us directly.
- There are about 340 victims in cases where an active scout leader abused children. (This number does not include children who were abused by scout leaders who had already left the organization.) Thirteen scout leaders, past and present, have been charged with child pornography-related crimes.
- CBC News has learned that Scouts Canada has signed out-of-court confidentiality agreements with more than a dozen child sex-abuse victims in recent years, shielding the incidents from further media attention.
- In many of the agreements, a confidentiality clause prevents victims from revealing the amount paid or even the fact that there was a settlement. At least one bars a former boy scout from publicly divulging that the abuse took place.
- Scouts Canada has refused to disclose details about any of the settlements. Sources tell CBC News that some settlements were around $200,000.
- “An organization like Scouts has some advantages in trying to keep this quiet,” says Rob Talach, a London, Ont., -based lawyer. “Their core message and their core objective in society is a morally positive one.”
CBC’s investigative unit searched civil court records across the country and found a total of 24 lawsuits filed against Scouts Canada since 1995. Of those, plaintiffs in 13 lawsuits have signed confidentiality agreements.In all the civil suits, plaintiffs accused the youth organization of failing in some way to protect them during incidents spanning the 1960s to ‘90s.
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