The Boy Scouts of America responded to the recent Connecticut Scout sexual abuse lawsuit by stating that they were unaware of any wrongdoing on their part or of the accused, Donald Dennis.
In a statement to local media, the Boy Scouts wrote, “We were only made aware of these allegations last month and had never before received any reports or accusations against this individual by youth members, parents or adult volunteer leaders. I can also tell you that this individual has not been registered in our programs for many years and is now deceased.”
This is the Boy Scouts’ standard response to allegations of sexual abuse by their members. Of course, this response ignores the whole point alleged in lawsuits like this one in Connecticut that, while the BSA may not have known that a particular adult volunteer was abusing boys, the organization knew for decades that pedophiles targeted Scouting to gain access to and sexually abuse boys. Instead of using this knowledge to warn and protect the boys, BSA and its local Councils covered up the problem to protect its reputation.