As the Boy Scouts of America hurries to emerge from bankruptcy and put allegations of sexual abuse to rest, lawyers for victims want the organization’s “dark side” revealed in its bankruptcy proceedings, the Wall Street Journal reported. With billions of dollars worth of land, buildings, cash and investments to protect, the Boy Scouts appeared for the first time yesterday before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, where a lawyer for the organization, Jessica Boelter, said that it recognized the harm endured by victims of childhood sexual abuse. The bankruptcy filing is designed to resolve allegations of sexual abuse in 275 existing lawsuits and from thousands of more people who haven’t filed papers in court. “We need to move through this bankruptcy as quickly as possible,” Boelter said in court. Lawyers for abuse victims said they are looking to the bankruptcy process as a way to find out more about circumstances surrounding allegations of widespread abuse of boys as young as 5 years old by scoutmasters and others connected to the organization. “We’re not here because the Boy Scouts do a great job at taking care of boys or training boys,” said James Stang, a lawyer for sexual-abuse survivors. “There’s a very dark side to their history.” He said the 10 law firms he advises are representing “probably more than 2,700 men” combined, some of which are elderly, sick or have pressing psychological counseling needs.”
