The Boy Scouts of America have reached a financial settlement with six men who say they were sexually abused when they were members of the same troop in Oregon in the 1980s.
The settlement, the terms of which were not disclosed, was reached last week and announced on Wednesday by the plaintiff’s lawyers. It was confirmed by the national scouting organization, which is based in Irving, Texas.
“I’m so glad this is over,” Kerry Lewis, 38, one of the former scouts, said in a conference call with reporters.
Deron Smith, a spokesman for the Scouts, said the organization was “deeply saddened by the events in these cases” and extended its sympathies to the victims.
He said the Scouts had taken steps to improve its youth protection program and provide a safer environment for boys.
The settlement comes after a trial in which a jury awarded Lewis US$19.9 million in damages in April. His lawyers, Kelly Clark and Paul Mones, based in Portland, are representing more than a dozen other former scouts in abuse cases around the country; several others are also pending.
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