Attorneys representing a former Boy Scout, who won a lawsuit last week against the Boy Scouts of America, are seeking $25 million in punitive damages.
A jury in Portland, Oregon, ruled Tuesday, April 13, that the organization was negligent and subsequently awarded Kerry Lewis $1.4 million for the repeated sexual abuse he suffered as a child during the 1980s.
Although former Scout leader Timur Dykes had been removed as a Scout master, he was permitted to continue contact with the boys as a volunteer.
The punitive phase began Tuesday with Lewis' attorneys arguing that the Boy Scouts of America never had a plan to protect the boys or prevent sexual abuse. In addition, the organization failed to warn parents of potential abuse.
During the trial last week, Lewis' attorneys, Kelly Clark and Paul Mones, introduced more than 1,000 files that had been archived at the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas. The secret "perversion files" were kept from 1965 to 1985, listing names of suspected child molesters. The lawyers told the jury that "the organization should be punished for failing to use those files to fashion an extensive program to educate parents, Scout leaders, volunteers and the Scouts themselves about the risk of sex abuse."
Chuck Smith, an attorney for the Boy Scouts, called witnesses who testified about the organization's "youth protection training" and "two-deep leadership," a program that doesn't allow one individual to be alone with the children at any time. Witnesses also talked about the criminal background checks that are now conducted on all volunteers.
Lewis' attorneys called an accountant to the witness stand who testified about the Boy Scouts of America's financial capacity. Serena Morones told jurors the Boy Scouts organization is a nearly $1 billion corporation. Even though it is a nonprofit, its assets include $633 million in investments, $100 million in real estate, and a $45 million art collection.
Morones provided a conservative estimate, saying the organization earns at least $32 million a year. She said the Boy Scouts could pay the $25 million in punitive damages requested by Lewis' attorneys over a mere 9 1/2 months.
In the decision last week, the jury found the Boy Scouts of America 60% negligent, the Cascade Pacific Council, an organization that oversees troops in the area, 15% negligent; and the LDS Church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, 25% negligent. The Church sponsors many scout troops including the one involved in this case.
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Source: AP
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