Boy Scout Abuse Allegations Extend to Champaign County

Following a court order, thousands of pages of documents released this week by the Boy Scouts of America about alleged sexual abuse show many cases occurred in central Illinois. 

According to a list of the allegations published by the Los Angeles Times, there were about 300 sexual abuse claims in Illinois going back to the 1960’s. Included in the list are six cases in Decatur, five in Springfield, four in Peoria, and three in Champaign-Urbana.

Champaign County States Attorney Julia Rietz said before her office can consider any legal action; she needs to know more about the allegations.

“We’ll have to sit down with local law enforcement agencies that would have jurisdiction over these various allegations, and see whether there is anything we can do about them at this point,” Rietz said.

Rietz said the statute of limitations may have run out in some of the cases, depending on the date of the complaints, and the ages of the alleged victims.

Of all the documented cases, some resulted in court sentences, while others have not been substantiated or were dropped.

Advocates have slammed the Boy Scouts for allegedly trying to preserve the organization's reputation while ignoring harm done to children.

Other cases of alleged abuse in east central Illinois were reported in communities, including St. Joseph, Danville, Pekin, Charleston, and Lincoln.