FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2016
ANOTHER FORMER BOY SCOUT FILES LAWSUIT
AGAINST BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA FOR SEXUAL ABUSE
BY CLYDE BROCK, FORMER OREGON CITY SCOUTMASTER
For More Information:
Gilion C. Dumas 503-952-6789 gilion@dumaslawgroup.com
Ashley L. Vaughn 931-206-0090 ashley@dumaslawgroup.com
PORTLAND, OREGON: Another former Boy Scout who was sexually molested by serial pedophile Clyde Brock, out of Oregon City, Oregon, has bravely stepped forward and filed a lawsuit against Boy Scouts of America and Cascade Pacific Council today. (Multnomah Co. Circuit Court Case No. 16CV37755). The case alleges that the plaintiff was repeatedly and severely sexually abused by Brock, his Scoutmaster, in the mid to late 1960s. The case further alleges that the defendants were aware Brock posed a danger to children, yet did not remove him from Scouting prior to the plaintiff’s abuse, and that the defendants were aware that adult volunteers targeted Boy Scouts to sexually abuse boys and hid that danger from boys and their parents, committing negligence and fraud. The plaintiff, who the Multnomah County Court allowed to file the case under the pseudonym “Mark Doe,” was a Scout in Troop 220 in Oregon City, Oregon.
Gilion C. Dumas and Ashley L. Vaughn, of the Dumas Law Group, LLC, filed the lawsuit today in Multnomah County Circuit Court. It is the fourth civil lawsuit filed by these lawyers concerning Brock’s abuse, who BSA kicked out of Scouts in 1968. The other three cases involve three brothers abused by Brock. Two of those cases are still pending, the third was filed in 2014 and settled earlier this year.
BSA records show that BSA found out Brock was abusing boys in his troop when two boys accused him to the head of the Troop 220 troop committee in 1968. Those boys identified at least ten other boys in the troop as victims.
This disclosure led to BSA creating an Ineligible Volunteer “Perversion” File (“IV File”) on Brock in 1968. Brock’s file was one of over 1,200 BSA “Perversion” files that the Oregon Supreme Court ordered made public in 2012. It was one of the files considered by the jury in the 2010 Kerry Lewis trial in Portland before the jury awarded over $18 million in punitive damages against BSA. Ms. Dumas was one of the trial attorneys representing Mr. Lewis in that case.
Brock’s file shows that BSA allowed Brock to “resign” in exchange for BSA agreeing to not “investigate” by talking to the ten other boys or their parents. “The BSA agreed to cover up the sexual abuse of at least 12 boys and to not even tell the parents of the boys,” said Ms. Dumas. “Brock’s IV File shows that BSA put the Boy Scout brand and reputation before the safety of children.”
Even worse, Brock’s IV File shows that BSA had prior notice that Brock was a danger to children. The file notes that Brock had been “called to task” at least two times before for taking pictures of nude children, taking boys to his home, and showing them pictures of nude children and nude adults. Although BSA acknowledged that taking photos of nude kids “could not be condoned” by “Scouting’s leadership,” Scout leadership did condone Brock’s conduct by not kicking him out of Scouting when they first had notice of his nude photography and other bad acts.
Even after BSA forced Brock to resign, it engaged in a cover up of his sexual abuse of at least 12 boys in his troop. BSA allowed Brock to claim he had resigned because of high blood pressure. After he resigned, the Scout Executive of the local Council wrote to suggest that, “I can see no reason why he shouldn’t be recognized at the 50th anniversary celebration[.]” He thought this recognition “would help to ally questions about his retirement from the troop,” emphasizing that “the less it is discussed among adults and boys . . . the better it will be.” BSA condoned this plan, as this letter is part of Brock’s permanent IV File.
“The abuse of so many children could have been prevented had BSA kicked Brock out of Scouting at the first sign of danger,” Ms. Vaughn said. It is clear from Brock’s IV File that no one from BSA or CPC reported Brock’s crimes to the police or to the parents of the 12 boys identified as likely victims.
Because Brock’s crimes were successfully covered up in 1968, Brock succeeded in molesting and sexually exploiting other boys. In 1971, he was indicted in Clackamas County for fondling an 11-year-old boy, and indicted on two counts in Jefferson County for fondling two ten-year-old boys. When Brock was arrested, police seized hundreds of photograph slides of nude boys and adults, and pornographic magazines and books, many featuring young boys. Brock pled guilty to one count in Clackamas County and one count in Jefferson County.
In 1965, the BSA had awarded Brock the Silver Beaver award, one of BSA’s most prestigious honors for Scout volunteers. The Scouts did nothing to rescind the award after he was accused of molesting 12 boys and kicked out of Scouts in 1968, or later when he was convicted of sexually molesting three children. Brock died in 2001. Brock’s IV File was profiled by Aimee Green of the Oregonian in 2012, when the IV Files were released to the public.
If these cases go to trial, it would be the first time the Boy Scouts face a jury on fraud claims. Plaintiff’s theory is that, just like cigarette companies have been sued for creating a false impression of the safety of cigarettes through advertising, television, and other media, BSA created a false impression that Scouting was a safe and wholesome activity for boys – and that Scoutmasters were trustworthy, model citizens – through publications like Boys Life magazine and The Scout Handbook. At the same time, BSA failed to tell Scouts and their parents that BSA knew that pedophiles targeted the organization to abuse and molest boys.
Ms. Dumas and Ms. Vaughn have substantial experience representing adult victims of child abuse against large institutions that allowed the abuse, such as the Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church, and other religious and youth-serving organizations. They have represented clients across the United States and currently have cases filed in Oregon, Montana, and Idaho. In Idaho, they represent 18 men in a sexual abuse lawsuit against the LDS Church and BSA, claiming that the organizations committed fraud by not warning Scouts and their parents about the severe risk of being sexually abused by an adult Scout volunteers. In Montana, they represent six women who were raped and molested by the male leader of their co-ed Explorer Scout Post in the 1970s.
Ms. Dumas notes that Brock had many more victims, including the ten boys mentioned in his IV File, and that there are likely many more witnesses with information. “Witnesses and other survivors need to know that if they come forward, they will be listened to, believed, and treated with respect.”
Anyone who has additional information about this matter is encouraged to contact attorneys Gilion C. Dumas or Ashley L. Vaughn at the following contact information:
Gilion C. Dumas 503-952-6789 gilion@dumaslawgroup.com
Ashley L. Vaughn 931-206-0090 ashley@dumaslawgroup.com