$25 million - Six men have filed against the Boy Scouts and the Mormon church

Six Portland men agreed to enter talks this week to settle their $25 million lawsuit against the Mormon church and the Boy Scouts of America over alleged sexual abuse.

The lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Portland contends that in the 1980s and 1990s Timur Van Dykes molested Boy Scouts in Troop 719, which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints supervised. Since 1983, Dykes, 51, has been convicted of at least 26 sex crimes.

"The amazing thing about this case is the extent to which these institutions continued to allow him access to kids, even after he had acknowledged sexually abusing boys and, indeed, after he had been convicted for doing so," said Portland attorney Kelly Clark, who represents the plaintiffs.

Attorney Steve English, who represents the Mormon Church, said that perspective is inaccurate.

"The church worked cooperatively with the Portland police, who learned of this abuse before the church did, and the church suspended Mr. Dykes’ privileges as a church member within two weeks of learning of this abuse," English said.

The Cascade Pacific Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Portland did not return phone calls.

Dykes, who lives in Southwest Portland, is one of about 50 Oregon leaders expelled by the Boy Scouts for sex abuse between 1970 and 1990, according to confidential Boy Scout files obtained by The Oregonian. The number of Boy Scout leaders ejected in Oregon eclipses the number of abusive priests identified statewide in the recent Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal.

Under Oregon’s flexible statute of limitations, victims of sexual abuse can bring cases once they’ve discovered how the abuse affected them, sometimes decades after the actual crimes.

Dykes has been a source of legal troubles for the Boy Scouts before. Three lawsuits alleging abuse filed in 1987 resulted in undisclosed settlements. The mother of one of Dykes’ earliest alleged victims told The Oregonian in 1995 that abuse of her son contributed to his suicide.

Peter Zuckerman: 503-294-5919; peterzuckerman@ news.oregonian.com

Posted by The Associated Press June 10, 2008 14:23PM
Oregonlive.com

Settlement hearings are planned this week for a $25 million lawsuit that claims the Mormon Church and the Boy Scouts failed to protect six boys from a man who was eventually convicted of sex abuse.

U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan and retired Lane County Circuit Judge Lyle Velure plan hearings Wednesday through Friday. They presided over the settlement of a similar lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland last year.

The hearings this week are on a suit that alleges abuse in the 1980s and early ’90s by Timur Van Dykes, a former Sunday school teacher who was also a Scout leader.

Dykes, 52, has been convicted of at least 26 sex crimes since 1983. He is one of about 50 Oregon leaders expelled by the Boy Scouts for sex abuse between 1970 and 1990 and more than 5,100 leaders expelled nationally since 1946.

By DIANE SHEA
Bucks County Courier Times

In February of this year, the Bucks County Courier Times carried two articles about Dave Sicoli, former priest stationed at Immaculate Conception parish in Levittown. Sicoli was one of the many priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who had been named as a sexual predator in the grand jury report on the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

One article was written by Matt Coughlin, who reported that Sicoli had been defrocked by the Vatican.

This could only have happened if the evidence against Sicoli clearly and unambiguously found him guilty of the sexual abuses of which he had been accused. The second, by Ben Finley, brought attention to the fact that Sicoli has a home somewhere in Sea Isle, N.J., yet his neighbors have no access to knowledge about Sicoli’s past.

Both articles made reference to the statute of limitations as the reason for this dreadful reality. What seems to be apparent is the need to support legislation in Harrisburg (House Bill 1574), which has been in committee. But why the holdup? Why has this bill allowing for civil action against these predators not found unanimous support?

I suggest that the best answer can be found in a newly published book, “Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children,” written by Marci Hamilton and published by Cambridge University Press. A lawyer and constitutional expert, Hamilton tackles the issue head-on but in language that is clearly written and not full of unnecessary legalese.

She argues that the legal system has obstinately persisted in supporting sexual predators at the expense of victimized children. For Hamilton, the solution is simple. The statute of limitations for sexual offenses against children must be eliminated. But simple is not apparent, especially to those with a vested interest in keeping those victimized out of the courtroom.

According to Hamilton, many in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church have actively and successfully lobbied in numerous states to defeat legislation that even opens a window of opportunity for victims. Yet, she is not guilty of Church bashing. She acknowledges the role that the Church has played in this arena but points to the insurance lobbyists as the primary, albeit quieter, barrier.


So too have teacher unions, some defense attorneys, and finally the many of us who might fall into the category of uninformed public, been complicit in looking out for something or someone other than children who need a voice.

Of the many arguments that Hamilton proposes, one that I support wholeheartedly is those who have been sexually abused are not likely to report their abuse until adulthood and the rate of nondisclosure is estimated to be nearly 90 percent. In my own research I found that over 25 percent of those abused by a priest did not disclose until after that age of 49. Of those abused by someone other than a priest, 28 percent had not disclosed until the ages of 40-49.

The benefits of abolishing the statute of limitations seem obvious. I agree with Hamilton. We will have better knowledge of those among us who have abused children. More children will have greater protection. Finally, members of the clergy are by no means the primary perpetrators of sexual abuse. No organization is exempt and sexual abuse is most often committed by a family member. We must take a stand for the civil rights of our children.

As Hamilton documented, in California, where the statute “window” was enacted, only a small fraction of claims were found to be false and 300 new abusers (by some estimates) were identified. Surely this is worth the cost. Are we in Pennsylvania, like Californians, willing to take a stand in favor of our children? I encourage you to read Hamilton’s book and, more importantly, write a letter in support of House Bill 1574.

Diane Shea, Langhorne, is an adjunct professor at Holy Family University and is a former director of residential services for Elwyn, Inc.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/322-05032008-1528634.html

November 14, 2007

Jim Cummins died 18 days before this week’s meeting of the U.S. Conference of Bishops. But if it’s possible to rage in heaven, then surely Jim is raging now at Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George.

Cardinal George, just elected president of the bishops’ conference, is a brilliant man who can be warm, thoughtful and funny. But he can also be dismissive, distant and icy, particularly when it comes to questions of the church’s accountability and transparency on the issue of sex abuse by clergy.

As the bishops met in Baltimore on Tuesday, Sun-Times religion reporter Susan Hogan/Albach broke the story of a letter the cardinal sent earlier this year to parents of a victim. While apologizing for "the terrible abuse" suffered by their now-adult son by two Chicago priests when he was a child, the cardinal combined his heartfelt apology with an equally heartfelt denunciation.

Money, the cardinal wrote, was behind proposed Illinois legislation that would waive the statute of limitations, allowing adults to come forward years after abuse occurred and sue their abusers. "This is irresponsible, is not about the safety of children as the sponsor claims and is clearly, to me at least, about money," George wrote.

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BY MARCI A. HAMILTON
Newsday.com
Marci A. Hamilton is a professor of public law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and author of the forthcoming "Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children."

November 9, 2007

Who would have thought that the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa, could be a place where girls could be physically and sexually abused by one of the dormitory matrons?

Winfrey, after all, has been a vocal and active advocate for survivors of child abuse, having experienced this horror as a child herself. You can only imagine her anguish when she heard that the institution she created to nurture girls was doing the opposite.

There is a lesson here for everyone: Those who abuse children typically select careers close to them. Whether they choose to be teachers, dormitory matrons, clergy or Boy Scout leaders, they position themselves to have the greatest access to children.

They are scheming and devious to serve their sexual compulsions. Even when the one who is supporting the organization is especially sensitive to child abuse, as is Winfrey, these are people who are very hard to identify.
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