Former Michigan elementary teacher and Boy Scout leader, Bill Bricker, now 94 years old, is unlikely to face a criminal trial in Wyoming for child sexual abuse because of his age and mental condition.
Bricker, who spent decades as a teacher and Scout leader in Winnetka, Michigan, was criminally charged in September with molesting two boys in 1962 and 1985 at a Scout camp in Wyoming. There is no criminal or civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse in Wyoming. However, Bricker’s age and failing health make a trial unlikely.
Many Bricker victims are dismayed that he will not be tried. Others are relieved that his acts pf sexual abuse finally have been made public. They see these revelations as a move forward. “I’m hoping that the Boy Scouts, the Winnetka school district and anyone who swept this under the rug will be shamed by all this and finally come clean,” said a 62-year-old North Shore man who claims he was sexually abused by Bricker during a 1966 Boy Scout camping trip.
Since Bricker’s arrest on these charges, other victims have come forward with similar stories of sexual abuse. According to the Chicago Tribune, school and police records indicate that, as early as 1968 and continuing into the 1990s, after Bricker had retired from Hubbard Woods Elementary School in Michigan, multiple complaints about Bricker molesting children were brought to school officials.
Michigan’s statute of limitations for civil claims against Bricker, the school district, or the Boy Scouts has expired. However, Wyoming has no statute of limitations for civil claims for child sex abuse. This means that there is no deadline for civil claims against the Boy Scouts, if there is grounds for such claims, for sexual abuse by Bricker or other Boy Scout leaders that happened in Wyoming.
If you or someone you know was abused by Bill Bricker or any Boy Scout volunteer in Wyoming and would like to talk to a lawyer, contact us at info@DumasLawGroup.com