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Boy Scouts of America

Former Boy Scouts push for new Ohio law as they seek relief for child sex abuse

August 31, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; 
David DeLapa, a survivor of Boy Scout sex abuse, was photographed by the Statehouse in downtown Columbus.
Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch
Haley BeMiller
The Columbus Dispatch

David DeLapa first connected with his teacher and Boy Scout master over World War II memorabilia.

The teacher brought different items into the classroom for show and tell, catching the attention of a young boy who played Army games and watched television shows about war. DeLapa would go up to his teacher's desk and ask to look at the hats and swords.

Before long, their interactions lost any innocence. DeLapa said his teacher would hold him after class and spank him with a paddle for doing something wrong − or simply for his own amusement. Paddling turned into fondling. The abuse extended beyond the school day and into events for an Akron-area Boy Scout troop led by the teacher. At camp, DeLapa said, his teacher and scoutmaster raped him.

The troop leader pleaded guilty in 1979 to molesting another 10-year-old. When DeLapa's mom called to discuss a newspaper article about the case, he sensed she knew something, but couldn't bring himself to say it. He instead feigned shock, telling her how kind the man was to him in school.

PREVIOUSLY:Boy Scouts plan to exit bankruptcy approved, signaling end to largest sex abuse case of its kind

INVESTIGATION:Subject of USA TODAY investigation into child sexual abuse accused of sexual battery

After the phone call, DeLapa hopped in his Ford Pinto and drove into the Nevada desert until he reached the base of a mountain. He climbed it with every intention of jumping to his death. But as he watched the sun set, he heard God's voice telling him to turn around and go home.

So he did.

"When you're held captive for two years ... you lose a lot of emotions," said DeLapa, of Tallmadge. "You get mad at life. You hate life. You think about killing yourself. There's such darkness, and you withdraw. You don't do the things you used to do."

Nearly 2,000 Ohio Boy Scout sexual abuse survivors

DeLapa is among nearly 2,000 Ohio survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of Boy Scout leaders and volunteers. He's currently seeking financial relief from the Boy Scouts of America through its bankruptcy exit plan, which creates a $2.46 billion trust fund for survivors in exchange for no further lawsuits.

The amount of money someone is eligible for depends on multiple factors, including where they live. Survivors in states such as Ohio, which has a stricter statute of limitations for child sex abuse, can only recover a percentage of what's owed to them.

Ohio lawmakers are trying to change that with legislation that would scrap the statute of limitations for bankruptcy cases, allowing survivors to recoup the full amount for their claim. But the Legislature has less than one year to pass it.

"How can just by the mere fact that one of us was born in Ohio and had the misfortune to be sexually abused here, why should we receive half or less of the same person who just had the misfortune of being sexually abused in a different state?" said Eric Palmer, a Cincinnati attorney who says he was sexually abused by an Ohio scout leader.

Eric Palmer poses near his office on campus at the University of Cincinnati on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. Palmer, a survivor of abuse during his time as a Boy Scout, is awaiting legislation that would allow survivors to recoup the full amount owed to them in the national bankruptcy settlement, instead of just a percentage currently allowed under state law.

Boy Scouts settlement was years in the making

The Boy Scouts' settlement is the culmination of years of scrutiny over the organization's handling of sexual abuse, beginning with the release of its so-called perversion files – an internal list of ineligible volunteers.

Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy in 2020 as it faced hundreds of lawsuits across the country from former scouts who said they were molested and raped. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a path that's been pursued by several groups, including Catholic dioceses across the country, to blunt the financial impact of increased legal liability. But the Boy Scout case is the first with a national scope.

"When the Boy Scouts first announced that they were declaring bankruptcy, I was outraged because I knew that they were using that as a mechanism to avoid greater liability for the things they covered up," Palmer said.

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In a statement, Boy Scouts of America said the agreement will "provide survivors the opportunity be compensated efficiently and equitably." The organization also expressed support for the elimination of the criminal statute of limitations for sexual abuse.

Survivors who want compensation from the Boy Scouts have a few avenues they can pursue. The simplest option is a $3,500 expedited payout that requires minimal documentation and a less strenuous vetting process. They can also go through a lengthy independent review or see where they fall on a matrix that doles out money based on the severity and frequency of abuse. For example, rape victims are eligible for more money than those with claims that involved forced masturbation.

Palmer said he experienced multiple forms of abuse. The scoutmaster − not his own troop leader − was a longtime family friend who attended Palmer's church. One autumn day, Palmer said the man took him to a southern Ohio scout camp and began to wrestle with him on the front porch of a ranger's residence. The man then fondled and digitally penetrated him, Palmer said.

Years later, the man would call Palmer and thank him for never telling anyone. Palmer sat on the phone in silence, eventually mumbling, "Okay," before the conversation ended.

Eric Palmer is pictured during a camping trip in West Virginia with his Boy Scout troop when he was 11 years old.

The scouts' settlement considers so-called "scaling factors" for each claim, such as the impact of the abuse and whether the perpetrator assaulted multiple victims. Among those factors: the statute of limitations in each state for child sexual abuse cases.

In Ohio, criminal charges can be brought until the victim turns 43, with another five years granted if DNA is found after that. Current law caps the civil statute of limitations at age 30 and limits the damages someone can receive through civil claims. Advocates say these laws are unfriendly to child sex abuse victims, who often contend with memory loss and don't come forward until decades after the fact.

"Ohio represents one of the backward states in terms of recognizing the dynamic of child sexual abuse," said Jeff Anderson, a Minnesota attorney who specializes in child sex abuse litigation.

As a result, these laws limit what Ohioans can receive from the Boy Scouts. Per the settlement rules, survivors will get only 30 to 45% of what they're eligible for unless the Legislature acts before September of next year. And that's what Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, and Rep. Jessica Miranda, D-Forest Park, hope to do.

Seitz is an unlikely ally for this endeavor. The high-ranking GOP lawmaker spearheaded the effort to cap civil damages and has consistently opposed efforts to expand the statute of limitations. After lawmakers introduced a bill aimed at helping those abused by former Ohio State University doctor Richard Strauss, Seitz admitted it was a negotiating tactic never intended to become law. Instead, lawmakers used it to pressure the school to make better settlement offers.

For him, this legislation is different. It eliminates the statute of limitations just for bankruptcy claims, meaning its application is limited. And, crucial for Seitz, the Boy Scouts already agreed to a payment plan.

"I don’t like the fact that the Boy Scouts had to declare bankruptcy to get out of this," Seitz said. "I was never a Boy Scout myself, but the Boy Scouts have done a lot of good for a lot of years. It’s a shame that they went bankrupt."

'The Boy Scouts knew about this'

Others are less sympathetic to the Boy Scouts' plight.

"The Boy Scouts knew about this … they actually kept files on these guys, and they didn’t fire them," said Janet Nash, who says she was raped by an Ohio scout leader when she was 15 years old. "They didn’t get rid of them. They just moved them around and kept files on them. They didn’t warn the scouts. They didn’t warn the parents, and parents trusted these people."

A high school yearbook photo of Janet Nash.

A tomboy who longed to be part of the Boy Scouts, Nash joined the Exploring program in the 1970s − the only part of the organization that accepted girls at the time. In the end, however, the experience derailed her life. She was a good student who enjoyed science until the trauma made it difficult to focus, she said. She felt abandoned and blamed by the people around her.

Nash said she was initially hesitant to join the bankruptcy settlement, thinking no one would believe a young girl had been abused by the scouts. She later changed her mind after receiving encouragement to take action.

"I hid from it for decades," said Nash, who now lives outside Ohio. "I stuffed it in the back of my head. It’s so horrible because I wasn’t a bad kid at all ... I was just this kid chasing frogs in the creek months before it happened."

Mujaddid Muhammad also knows what it's like to have life forever changed by the Boy Scouts.

Sep 6, 2022; Columbus, OH, United States; Mujaddid Muhammad poses for a portrait in the Columbus Dispatch studio. Muhammad is seeking to recoup the full amount owed to him through a lawsuit meant to compensate  survivors of Boy Scout sexual abuse in the national bankruptcy case, instead of a partial amount currently allowed under state law Mandatory Credit: Brooke LaValley-The Columbus Dispatch

The Columbus man said he was sexually abused over a period of a few months by an Ohio scout leader when he was about 9 years old. Muhammad was not a Boy Scout, but he attended camps as part of a program for low-income children. The man who forced Muhammad to perform oral sex on him was seen as an upstanding member of the community, he said.

Muhammad's stepfather was skeptical of the troop leader, and the abuse ended when his family moved out of the area. But Muhammad said the experience sent him down a path of crime that started with juvenile breaking and entering and ended with a 32-year sentence for drug conspiracy as an adult. He didn't fully address the trauma from his childhood until he was in prison, with plenty of time to do what he called "introspective work."

Now, Muhammad is starting over. Like other survivors, the settlement is not necessarily about the money. He instead sees it as part of his journey toward redemption, a way to rebuild what the Boy Scouts destroyed years ago.

"I felt like the child in me that had been molested and abused had ran and hid in a cave," Muhammad said. "I was just living in that cave while someone else lived my life."

To learn more about the Boy Scouts settlement, visit bsarestructuring.org. Survivors looking for assistance can also contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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