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DERRICK BROZE
\nThe Mind Unleashed<\/p>\n
(TMU<\/a>)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Lawyers for eight plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington D.C. on Monday, demanding justice for victims of sexual abuse allegedly committed by leaders of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The lawsuit states that the organization failed to protect children who were entrusted to their adult scoutmasters and leaders. The eight plaintiffs are identified as John Does 1 through 8.<\/p>\n The lawsuit states that the BSA was fully aware that their organization had attracted pedophiles into its leadership and did nothing to stop the abuse. Further, BSA refused to acknowledge the abuse was taking place despite maintaining secret files of leaders known or suspected of committing acts of sexual abuse.<\/p>\n Although the BSA submits annual reports to Congress, the lawsuit states that\u00a0\u201cnever once in 103 years of reporting to Congress has BSA disclosed the fact that its programs were, and are, magnets to tens of thousands of pedophiles. Instead, BSA\u2019s Reports to the Nation have miscast the organization as a bastion of moral authority.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Courthouse News<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that the plaintiff\u2019s lawyers are associated with the Washington firm Zuckerman Spaeder and Abused in Scouting, a nationwide legal team that is currently signing up hundreds of clients across the United States who allege they were sexually abused by scoutmasters. The team of lawyers state that the federal court in D.C. is the appropriate venue for the lawsuit because the Boy Scouts were originally incorporated there in 1910.<\/p>\n Additionally, in 2019 the District of Columbia, New York, New Jersey, and California change their rules for statutes of limitations allowing lawsuits for claims of sexual abuses that may have occurred decades ago. The eight plaintiffs live in states\u2014Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia\u2014where the statutes of limitations prevent them from suing the Boy Scouts. The attorneys hope that choosing Washington D.C. as the venue will allow the alleged victims to seek justice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re intentionally trying to make this a venue for a national case against the Boy Scouts,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Aitan Goelman, one of the plaintiffs\u2019 lawyers, told\u00a0Courthouse News<\/em>.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re doing it conscious of the fact that it\u2019s unusual and we explain why we believe it\u2019s legally sound.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n