BOY SCOUT ABUSE STORIES CONTINUE TO UNFOLD Lifting of Statute of Limitations Makes Prosecutions Possible
ABOUT OUR SURVIVORSHIP SERIES This is the third post in our new Survivorship Series, which amplifies the voices of abuse survivors who are now working to protect other children from abuse. The National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse (NAASCA) estimates 50-60 million American adults were sexually abused as children. We honor those adults who are stepping up and sharing their abuse stories in order to change flawed systems, institutions, and laws.
Over 82,000 abuse cases against the Boy Scouts of America are currently being investigated nationally. Many of these stories are told in in Hulu's documentary Leave No Tracethat aired this week. The first charges against Boy Scout leaders have finally been made in Michigan. Survivors of abuse by perpetrator Mark Chapman (who had been a Boy Scouts scoutmaster for many years) include two male victims—one of whom was 13 or 14 when the abuse began, and a family member who was 11. Abuse of both victims continued throughout their teen years. According to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, “Mark Chapman is alleged to have abused children for years. He threatened them with violence when they refused to participate or tried to stop him when he was continuing his assaults and he is the source of their pain, their psychological scars and their mental anguish.”
According to NBC News, Chapman had served prison time in New York for additional sex crimes, and upon release, was extradited in March to Michigan to face these new charges for his 20-year-old crimes. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) said that Chapman was “a registered unit leader in various capacities from 1999 to 2007.” In addition to serving as a Boy Scouts scoutmaster, Chapman had also been a janitor at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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We applaud the bravery of these two survivors—and so many others—in coming forth to tell their stories of abuse as young Scouts years later. The recent changes in statutes of limitations in many states—removing or altering the statute for serious criminal sexual conduct (CSC)— has allowed victims to come forward to seek justice for crimes that traumatized them years ago. This has resulted in the huge numbers of cases being brought against the Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church, the Mormon Church, and other organizations.
“These charges are only the beginning...
we remain committed to securing justice for survivors of abuse." —Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel
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Nothing can make up for the longstanding pain and trauma that these survivors have had to face for so many years. But we are grateful that statutes of limitations are being relaxed and done away with in many states, and that this is leading to brave survivors—who suffered abuse years ago—coming forth to seek justice and to make sure that this pattern of abuse does not continue. This is just the beginning.
Learn about mandatory reporters here and about how to report suspected abuse here. Have additional comments or questions? Please send us an email at ask@partnersinprevention.org.
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