Sarasota Court Orders Boy Scouts to Produce National Perversion Files for Boy on Boy Abuse in Local Boy Scout Abuse Case
(PRWEB) September 19, 2013 -- Boy Scouts of America’s so-called “perversion files” were national news last autumn when the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that some twenty thousand pages of such records were to be made public***. Now, in a local sex abuse case in Sarasota, FL, the court has ordered the Boy Scouts of America to produce more recent records from the perversion files, including, for the first known time, files of boys allegedly sexually abusing other boys within Scouting.
In a case filed by Sarasota attorney Damian Mallard with co-counsel attorney Kelly Clark of Portland, Oregon, who handled the Oregon case resulting in the public release of perversion files, the Honorable Peter T. Dubensky, Trial Judge of the Circuit Court for Sarasota County, Florida, and over the opposition and objection of the Boy Scouts of America, has issued a Court Order requiring the Boy Scouts to produce these perversion files for alleged boy on boy sex abuse over the last ten years*. The court has ruled the documents were discoverable evidence that could be used to prove the Boy Scouts of America, or its local council, The Southwest Florida Council, were negligent in failing to supervise older scouts who allegedly sexually abused younger scouts in at least three different instances involving two different troops in Southwest Florida*.
“What the Boy Scouts knew about scout-on-scout abuse, when they knew it, and what they did about it is the crux of this case,” said lead counsel for the Plaintiffs, Damian Mallard. “We believe that the national organization certainly, and the regional council as well, had plenty of warnings prior to these boys being abused that they had a problem with scout-on-scout sexual abuse and bullying and yet took no steps to address it,” added Attorney Clark.
In recent months, BSA has lost its attempt to keep its perversions files secret with courts from other states all ordering them to produce some or all of these perversion files**.
The Oregon case that set the precedent for these rulings arose out of a 2010 trial in Portland, Oregon which Attorney Clark handled resulting in a nearly 20 million dollar verdict against the Boy Scouts of America, and its local affiliate, including 18.5 million dollars in punitive damages***. The central evidence in that case was the perversion files from 1965 to 1985, some twenty thousand pages that, according to Clark, convinced the jury that the scouts had long ignored its pedophile problem.
In the Sarasota case, two different perpetrators allegedly abused a total of three younger, smaller and/or weaker boys sexually and physically. Despite actual knowledge of two such incidents in 2007 in a Sarasota Troop, a third boy was allegedly abused in 2009 in a separate troop without any information or warning being disseminated to the youth, his parents or any of the other parents or adult leaders in his troop or any of the other local troops in the Southwest Florida Council*.
“It is the contention of the Plaintiffs that the failure to disseminate information and knowledge of boys allegedly sexually abusing other boys in scouting is something that not only should have been made known to the parents and the boys and all the troops in Southwest Florida, but also throughout the nation and training on how to handle such a situation should have been required for the boys, their parents and the adult scout leaders so that these tragic events would be avoided” said Mallard.
These cases are scheduled for trial in 2014 in Sarasota County.
About the Mallard Law Firm
Located in Sarasota, Florida, the Mallard Law Firm is a personal injury firm dedicated to helping victims of Florida injury cases seek justice for the wrongs they suffered. With over two decades of legal experience, Damian Mallard and his associates have helped many Florida child abuse victims and their families seek justice and receive favorable settlements and verdicts. Damian Mallard is also a board certified trial attorney, an achievement less than two percent of Florida lawyers have achieved, and he has also earned the Martindale-Hubbell® AV® Preeminent™ rating, the highest possible rating for both legal ability and ethical standards a lawyer can attain.
Providing personal attention and exceptional service to every client, the Mallard Law Firm is committed to advocating on behalf of Sarasota residents, as well as those throughout Florida, who find themselves in unfortunate situations. If you would like to speak with an experienced Sarasota injury attorney in a free legal consultation, call the Mallard Law Firm at 888-409-3805 to learn more.
*IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 12TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA
2010 CA 2482-NC
**IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 12TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA
2010 CA 3739 NC
***Multnomah County Circuit Judge for the State of Oregon, in the case of Lewis vs. Boy Scouts of America, Case No. 0710-11294
Contact: Damian B. Mallard, Esq.
Phone: 941.952.1682, 941-266-7646 (cell)
Email: Damian(at)mallardlawfirm(dot)com
Website: http://www.mallardlawfirm.com/
Contact: Kelly Clark, Esq.
Phone: 503-306-0224, 503-407-7381(cell)
Email: kellyc(at)oandc(dot)com
Website: http://www.oandc.com/
Danielle Ruderman, Foster Web Marketing, http://fosterwebmarketing.com, +1 888.886.0939, [email protected]
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