In Portland, Ore., the Boy Scouts of America have been found negligent for the sexual abuse a scout suffered at the hands of a troop leader in the 1980s. The jury awarded $1.4 million in non-economic damages, with punitive damages to be determined in the second phase of the trial. Nine of the 12 jurors agreed on the verdict; being a civil trial, unanimity was not required. Media stories from USA Today, the Portland Oregonian, and KATU Channel 2.
Update April 23rd: The jury, by a 9-3 vote, awarded Kerry Lewis $18.5 million in punitive damages. Fortunately, he doesn't get it all; by Oregon law, 60 percent of it goes to the state's crime victim's compensation fund.
The jury determined that found that the Boy Scouts of America were liable for 60% of the negligence for the abuse suffered in 1983 and 1984 by Kerry Lewis, who is now 38, the Oregonian reports. Timur Dykes (pictured above left), was the perpetrator of the abuse. The Cascade Pacific Council, the Scouts' local body, was deemed 15% responsible, and together they must pay Lewis $1.05 million. Lewis's suit asked for $14 million; if punitive damages are found during the second phase, they could reach as high as $25 million.
Jurors also found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had coordinated Lewis' Scout program in Southeast Portland, responsible for 25% of the abuse but will not have to pay. The church previously settled a lawsuit by Lewis for an undisclosed amount. Lewis was represented by serial litigator Kelly Clark, who has gone out of his way to pursue the LDS Church and the Roman Catholic Church in these types of cases.
The Boy Scouts announced they would appeal, saying in part, "We are gravely disappointed with the verdict. We believe that the allegations made against our youth protection efforts are not valid... We are saddened by what happened to the plaintiff. The actions of the man who committed these crimes do not represent the values and ideals of the Boy Scouts of America." Their full statement is available HERE. But confidential Boy Scout files showed that the organization knew of at least 1,000 suspected child molesters from 1965 to 1985 and tried to keep it quiet, as brought out by a former Scout leader, Larry O'Connor, who flew down from Alaska at his own expense to testify. So the outcome of an appeal would not be promising.
