CHARLESTON, W. Va. (WOWK) – As the list of Boy Scouts leaders accused of sexual abuse has nearly 3,000 more names than previously known, the question now is how many of those names, if any, are of leaders in the Tri-State. This as Lawyers across the country are seeking the public release of the names and information of Boy Scout Troop Volunteers accused of sexual abuse.
According to the Boy Scouts of America, when any volunteer is added to the database for suspected abuse, they are reported to law enforcement, removed entirely from all scouting programs and prohibited from rejoining anywhere. However, the BSA does not proactively make the names in the database public.
Since the 1920s, the Boy Scouts have been compiling “ineligible files,” which list adult volunteers considered to pose a risk of child molestation. About 5,000 of these files have been made public as a result of court action; others remain confidential.
Some of those names made public, however, include scout leaders from across West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio dating from the 1960s to the late 1990s.
- West Virginia:
- James Neff, South Charleston Troop 195 (1989)
- Luigi Liontakis, Huntington Troop 5, 8, 13 (1964)
- Richard Aluise, Huntington Troop 14 (1985)
- Royce Adkins, Huntington No Troop Number Identified (1971)
- No leader identified, Huntington Troop 20 (1992)
- No leader identified, St. Albans Pack 75 (1999)
- Kentucky
- Michael Boggess, Ashland No Troop Number Identified (1961)
- Joel Gilpin, Ashland No Troop Number Identified (1978)
- Ohio
- Bobby Harris, Nelsonville Troop 64, 69 (1969)
- Louis Carloni, The Plains Troop 301 (1989)
- David Williams, The Plains Troop 301 (1988)
In a statement released to media outlets on Thursday, Erin Eisner, Chief Strategy Officer for the Boy Scouts of America, said the following: “Experts agree that one of the most effective ways to prevent predators from having access to children is to track data on those individuals who have violated youth protection policies or have even been suspected of violating those policies.”
She added, “We are eager to share the information contained in our database with other youth-serving
organizations. That is why we’ve advocated for and will continue to push for the creation of
a national database to serve as a clearinghouse for all youth-serving organizations.”
According to Eisner, the BSA hopes their files will help to create a national registry, similar to the National Sex Offender Public Website, maintained by the Department of Justice.
WOWK 13 News reached out the BSA to ask when or if the new names will be released. We have yet to hear back.
