A lawsuit was filed Friday against a former Iowa Boy Scout leader.
Attorneys representing a man now in his 40s said the suit names Kenneth L. Newell, Boy Scouts of America and the Mid-Iowa Council of Boy Scouts.
The attorneys held a news conference on Friday to discuss the case. They said the victim still lives in Iowa.
They said the sexual abuse happened in the late 1970s when Newell was a scout leader of Troop No. 202 in West Des Moines.
The lawsuit claims that Iowa Boy Scout officials failed to supervise Newell to prevent him from abusing boys. It also claims the Boy Scouts knew they had a "serious problem with pedophiles in Scouting, and failed to warn Scouts, their parents and local troops about the dangers of abuse in Scouting."
"The Scouts were aware of a significant problem long before this action took place," said Patrick Hopkins, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit.
Hopkins told KCCI that he has talked with a few others in Iowa who said they were also sexually abused, but none of them have filed lawsuits.
"We're devastated that something happened to a young man or could have happened to a young man," said Bob Hopper, scout executive and CEO of Boy Scouts of America Mid-Iowa Council.
Hopper also talked about the broader allegations that the Boy Scout organization committed fraud and negligence by covering up instances of sexual abuse.
"I have a hard time with that just because I know what our organization has been doing in my own experience as a scout and as a staff member for all that time. Tough time hearing that and we are going to address it in the most forth right way we can," said Hopper.
A telephone number for Newell could not immediately be located. Newell has not been criminally charged.
Attorneys representing a man now in his 40s said the suit names Kenneth L. Newell, Boy Scouts of America and the Mid-Iowa Council of Boy Scouts.
The attorneys held a news conference on Friday to discuss the case. They said the victim still lives in Iowa.
They said the sexual abuse happened in the late 1970s when Newell was a scout leader of Troop No. 202 in West Des Moines.
The lawsuit claims that Iowa Boy Scout officials failed to supervise Newell to prevent him from abusing boys. It also claims the Boy Scouts knew they had a "serious problem with pedophiles in Scouting, and failed to warn Scouts, their parents and local troops about the dangers of abuse in Scouting."
"The Scouts were aware of a significant problem long before this action took place," said Patrick Hopkins, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit.
Hopkins told KCCI that he has talked with a few others in Iowa who said they were also sexually abused, but none of them have filed lawsuits.
"We're devastated that something happened to a young man or could have happened to a young man," said Bob Hopper, scout executive and CEO of Boy Scouts of America Mid-Iowa Council.
Hopper also talked about the broader allegations that the Boy Scout organization committed fraud and negligence by covering up instances of sexual abuse.
"I have a hard time with that just because I know what our organization has been doing in my own experience as a scout and as a staff member for all that time. Tough time hearing that and we are going to address it in the most forth right way we can," said Hopper.
A telephone number for Newell could not immediately be located. Newell has not been criminally charged.
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