AIS alleges that Boy Scouts of America hid thousands of abuse files from the public dating back decades.

“I was promised things and positions in my troop, so this monster in a scout uniform could feed on my not yet understood sexuality. In my young eyes, this man was a person

of power, sash full of badges, medals on his chest…and just like that, made a ten-year-old kid the troop quartermaster, so I wouldn’t tell what happened between us,” a former Boy Scout known only as Raymond stated in an AIS testimonial.

Plaintiff lawyers and investigators claim that the actual number of cases is unknown as many victims never stepped forward.

According to The Los Angeles Times, “A researcher hired by the Scouts to analyze a more complete set of records from 1944 to 2016 said last year that she had identified 7,819 suspected abusers and 12,254 victims.”

“We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our program to abuse innocent children,” BSA officials wrote in a statement to The New York Times. “We believe victims, we support them, we pay for counseling by a provider of their choice and we encourage them to come forward. It is the Boy Scouts of America (BSA.) policy that all incidents of suspected abuse are reported to law enforcement,” BSA officials stressed.

Boy Scouts of America released their lists of assets on Feb. 11, worth 1 to 10 billion to deal with the possible 1 billion liability charges to provide support for abused individuals.

Junior and Boy Scout, Philip Neid, expressed that while he’s distressed by how many cases are coming forward, he is encouraged by the increased efforts by BSA to prevent future abuse.

According to Neid, BSA requires all Scout leaders to complete the Scouts BSA Youth Protection Training Program (YTP), intended to be retaken every two years detailing appropriate leadership relationships.

All new scouts are now given a youth protection pamphlet included with their scout handbook informing parents on how to identify predators.

“In addition to YTP, adults and youth are required to follow a protocol called the two deep rule. The two deep rule requires there to be two youth with one adult so that a scout cannot be isolated and taken advantage of,” explained Neid.

“Adults and youth are not allowed to stay in the same tent unless they are in the same family. The same applies to female and male scouts. We keep female and male tents separated by putting adult tents in between the two areas.”

Neid was describing his recent trip to Philmont Ranch, a New Mexico BSA property. Though Neid would be training Scouts older than him, he was still required to take the YTA course.

The BSA has taken many steps in order to prevent further cases of sexual abuse from not only adult to youth, but also youth to youth.

They’ve taken this issue seriously and professionally, and it’s an organization I am proud to be a part of because of those steps they’ve taken,” said Neid.

If you or someone you know has been sexually violated while in BSA you’re encouraged to file an incident report on the BSA website as well as to contact authorities.