St. Paul advocate for sex-abuse victims to file suit in Rochester against Boy Scouts
A lawsuit is set to be filed Monday in Rochester against the Boy Scouts of America, the Gamehaven Scout Council and troop sponsor St. Piux X Church in Rochester.
Jeff Anderson, a prominent St. Paul attorney in sex abuse cases, will hold a press conference Monday regarding the suit, according to a press release received by BringMeTheNews.
The release, which names the accused molester, claims that the filing will be the "first civil lawsuit involving the Boy Scouts of America filed under the new Minnesota law eliminating the civil statute of limitations for children who are sexually abused and allowing a 3-year window for past victims of childhood sexual abuse to file lawsuits against their perpetrator."
As the Star Tribune reports, the suit is being filed on behalf of two former members of Troop 210 who claim they were abused in the 1970s by the molester, who now lives in Faribault, Minn.
The Strib reports Anderson said the man spent 22 years as a Scout leader and held other positions in the Rochester area involving youth activities. The release says the man is an "admitted child molester."
As KAAL-TV reports, one of the victims, referred to as Doe 8, will be at the press conference outside the Olmsted County government center at 11 a.m. (The station also names the accused.)
Anderson has been a pioneering legal advocate for victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy.
Last fall, the paper notes, the Boy Scouts of America released some 1,200 “Perversion Files” documenting reports of sexual abuse by Scoutmasters and adult leaders from 1965-1985, including 23 Scout leaders from Minnesota.
