Explorer Scout Sexual Abuse

USA Today Publishes Full-Length Report on Explorer Scout Sexual Abuse

USA Today’s Andrew Wolfson published a full-length report yesterday documenting the history of Explorer Scout Sexual Abuse that has plagued the youth program for nearly 40 years.  The article nearly wrote itself with quote after quote from police officers, department chiefs, and news reports that detail the 100+ documented cases.

Wolfson’s article makes use of a very well made infographic that was published by the Courior-Journal using impressive graphics and rich amounts of research on the subject.   With fact-finding credits going to Wolfson and Johnathan Kaminsky, the journalists complied an extensive list of data that was mined from news accounts and court records.  This is no small task and one that we have much respect for.  We recommend looking at Wolfson’s work whenever you get the time.

Shocking Statistics About Explorer Scout Sexual Abuse

Out of 115 cases, 137 of the sexually abused Explorer Scouts were females

Over 84% of all of the victims revealed in the report were girls.  Some of the girls were raped.  Others were seduced.  Others were molested.  Several cases revealed that multiple officers, sometimes from different police departments, were having sex with the same underage victim.  We find this statistic alarming, both because of its truth and because of its breadth.

Only 30% of all of the cases reported resulted in Criminal Convictions

The Police Explorer Scout program states that it is a “hands-on program open to young men and women who have completed the 6th grade through 20 years old.”  As defined, this produces a demographic of boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 20 years-old.  Thus, the majority of the Explorer Scouts were minors when they were sexually abused.  But despite this fact, less than a third of the police officers who sexually abused these youth were convicted of their crimes.

Of the 129 adult authority figures involved, only one was a woman

Of all the cases reported, only one female police officer resigned from her position as an Explorer adviser after being accused of having sex with an 18-year-old Explorer Scout.  The other 128 adults involved in the Explorer Scout Sexual Abuse cases were all men.

Our recent Police Explorer case settlement was the highest to date

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that our recent Police Explorer Sexual Abuse settlement with the City of Irwindale was over 400% higher than the national average.  The Law Office of Anthony DeMarco is currently representing three clients who were sexual abused by former Irwindale Police Officer, Daniel Camerano when they were young, Police Explorer Scouts in the department.  We are still awaiting verdicts or settlement in those cases.  But in April of this year, we settled a case involving a fourth victim of Camerano’s for $2.75 million.

READ MORE about the settlement here >>

We’re happy that we were able to gain some financial compensation and emotional closure for our client in the Irwindale case.  But no amount of money will make up for the suffering that any victim of sexual abuse will endure.  We are working hard to ensure that justice is served in the remaining three Explorer cases that we still have open.

LEARN MORE about Two More Irwindale Police Explorer Scouts File Lawsuit for Sexual Abuse >>

Resources to prevent Police Explorer Sexual Abuse

We want to thank USA Today and the Courior-Journal for recognizing the importance of drawing attention to this national sexual abuse epidemic within the Police Explorer Scout program.  As a small law firm we can only do so much to bring the types of facts that we uncover in our cases to the level of national awareness.  We join in our clients’ wishes to expose sexual abuse cover-ups like we’ve seen in the Police Explorer Sexual Abuse cases and ensure that no more innocent minors fall victim to abuse by adults who have been entrusted to help them.

Our website provides a public resource of documents and data that we hope will inform people of problems like the Police Explorer Scout Sexual Abuse Scandal.  We maintain a running list of Police Explorer Sexual Abuse cases that have been documented across the nation in addition to sexual abuse cases related to Schools, Churches, Youth Sports and Organizations.

We welcome you to explore all of our case resources and to contact us with any questions you might have regarding sexual abuse within the Police Explorer Scout program.