Boy Scouts of America Sued Over Allegations Of Sexual Assault By Stamford Scoutmaster

July 23--Another lawsuit has been filed against the Boy Scouts of America, this one alleging that a Stamford scoutmaster molested four teenage boys over a two-year period in the mid-1970's.

But unlike previous lawsuits against the national organization, this one involves a scoutmaster who was arrested on risk of injury charges, served prison time and is still not on the group's list who are ineligible to volunteer because of sexual impropriety that was kept secret for years.

The lawsuit filed by West Hartford attorney Brooke Goff alleges that national Boy Scout leaders and local leaders from the Connecticut Yankee Council should have been aware that Wally Ackerman allegedly would spend hours alone, individually, with each of the four boys on many occasions between 1974-1976. The boys were part of Boy Scout Troop 38.

Ackerman was arrested by Stamford police in February of 1977 and charged with risk of injury to a minor and tampering with the morals of a minor, according to an article in the Stamford Advocate at that time. Ackerman served a 16-month prison sentence starting in 1979 on the risk of injury to a minor charges.

Despite that record he is not listed in the National Boy Scouts files, which were kept secret for years until they were unsealed by a court.

Officials from the Boy Scouts of America could not be reached for comment by The Courant. They did release a statement to the Connecticut Law Tribune which said. "The behavior included in these allegations is abhorrent and runs counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands. Nothing is more important than the safety of our youth members. We are outraged there have been times when scouts were abused, and we sincerely apologize to victims and their families. Even one instance of child abuse is unacceptable."

The lawsuit also claims that scout leaders both locally and nationally "failed to conduct a background check on Ackerman when he registered with BSA."

Goff has filed several lawsuits in the past few years on behalf of men claiming they were abused when they were boys by scoutmasters. She filed a lawsuit against former Ridgefield scout leader Donald Dennis two years ago. A judge recently granted a motion to dismiss that case filed by attorneys for the Boy Scouts who it was beyond the 30-year statute of limitations to file a lawsuit.

Goff is asking the judge to reconsider that ruling and he has granted them permission to take a deposition of a key witness and file a new brief on why the case should be reinstated.

Goff said in the most recent case, there is evidence that the Boy Scouts knew of abuse.

___

(c)2018 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.)

Visit The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) at www.courant.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.