BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Nearly 8,000 Boy Scout leaders are accused of sexually abusing children nationwide, according to new court testimony.
The Jeff Anderson & Associates law firm from New York City says 7,819 Boy Scout leaders are accused of sexually abusing 12,254 child victims. Anderson says 130 of those accused are from New York State, and we have learned 14 are from Western New York. These accusations date back to the 1940's.
The report released the following names from Western New York:
Albion: Kenneth Allan Dingman, Troop 48
Angola: Douglas Louis White, Troop 399
Barre Center: William Charles Parker, Troop 175
Belmont: Charles E. Ladison, Troop 24
Buffalo: Timothy H. Jones, Explorer post 10
Richard Earl Martin, Troop 335
Clarendon: Gary R. Germeo, Explorer Post 59
Corfu: Lowell L Merritt, Troop 62
Depew: John E. Grace, Troop 567
Douglas W. Nail Troop 565
Grand Island: Richard Earl Martin Troop 257
Lackawanna: William D. Baker, Troop 547
Raymond W. Culbertson, Troop 547
North Tonawanda: Alfred L. Cote, Pack 185
Tonawanda: Peter Naffky, Troop 450
The Boy Scouts of America released a statement saying:
"We care deeply about all victims of child abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We believe victims, we support them, and we have paid for unlimited counseling by a provider of their choice. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children.
Throughout our history, we have enacted strong youth protection policies to prevent future abuse, including mandatory youth protection trainings and a formal leader-selection process that includes criminal background checks. Since the 1920s, we have maintained a Volunteer Screening Database to prevent individuals accused of abuse or inappropriate conduct from joining or re-entering our programs, a practice recommended in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control for all youth-serving organizations.
At no time have we ever knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth, and we mandate that all leaders, volunteers and staff members nationwide immediately report any abuse allegation to law enforcement."
7 Eyewitness News has learned another National Law Firm has even more names. Those can be found here.
