James Martin Rise (aka James Martin von Richter and James Martin Morris) had a long criminal history by the time he started volunteering for the Boy Scouts. In 1956, he was convicted of fraud by impersonation. In 1979, he was accused of rape in the third degree. In 1980, he was indicted for sexual abuse of a girl under the age of 12.
The cases involving sexual abuse and rape were eventually dismissed because the victims were unable to testify.
In spite of this criminal history, James Martin Rise was allowed to volunteer for the Boy Scouts until he was finally kicked out in 1987. His “Ineligible Volunteer” file is notable for a couple of reasons:
First, Rise volunteered as a “Mate” on Sea Scout Ship 724 in Sherwood, Oregon. That he targeted a Sea Scout unit is important because, as part of the Boy Scout’s Explorer division, the Sea Scouts had gone coed in 1972. So by the 1980s when Rise volunteered, there were girl Sea Scouts. Pedophiles go to where they will find victims and, since Rise apparently preferred adolescent girls, he went to a coed Scout unit.
Second, the file is one of many examples showing that the Boy Scouts have allowed off-the-books volunteers to participate in Scouting programs. Although the BSA touts its system of “registered volunteers” as the acme of child protection, the organization has tolerated and even encouraged adults to participate in Scouting without officially registering. Unregistered volunteers flew under the radar, with no official record with the BSA and no oversight.
Rise was one of these unregistered volunteers, as shown by his 1987 “IV File.” The file contains a letter from Cascade Council employee Don Chilcote explaining that Rise, “has been on the fringe of the program and drifted from place to place in his volunteer roles.”
Because the BSA did not enforce its policies requiring volunteers to register with the national office, accused pedophiles like Rise were allowed access to children for years without detection.