On June 5, 1989, Frank Ward, an “MC” in Troop S0035 in Oregon pled guilty to sexual abuse in the second degree. He was sentenced to probation for a period of five years. As part of the sentencing, Ward was not to have any contact with children.
While the Boy Scouts’ Perversion Files provide scant evidence in terms of Ward’s resignation, it appears that it was connected to the sexual abuse charges. It is also not clear how long Ward was involved in scouting before being arrested on the sexual abuse charge.
The Perversion Files contain a letter concerning Frank Ward dated June 9, 1989 addressed to Jerry Dempsey, Scout Executive with Oregon Trail Council 697. The letter is written by Paul Ernst, the Director of the Scouts’ Registration Service. Ernst writes in his letter,
“Is this some matter we should be concerned about related to the Confidential File? We will remove his registration but would like to know whether or not we should establish a file, or if this is simply a matter of him no longer wanting to be involved on an active basis?”
The letter clearly demonstrates that not everyone in a supervisory role within the Boy Scouts were aware of the criminal charges to which Ward pled guilty. Obviously, this is a problem in terms of protecting children. The letter is dated four dates AFTER Ward pled guilty to sexual abuse and yet the person in charge of Boy Scout registration is apparently unaware of Ward’s situation. How does this happen? It happens when institutions like the Boy Scouts are more concerned with protecting the organization rather than protecting children. Knowledge is power when it comes to protecting children from dangerous predators.