Birchmore’s case is among at least 194 allegations that law enforcement personnel, mostly policemen, have groomed, sexually abused or engaged in inappropriate behavior with Explorers since 1974, an ongoing investigation by The Marshall Project has found. The vast majority of those affected were teenage girls — some as young as 13.
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The officers accused of abusing teenagers spanned the ranks, from patrolmen to police chiefs. Some were department veterans cited in news articles for their community work. A handful had served their agencies for barely a year. And some were married men with families of their own.
I am not claiming its not their fault, but im not sure that its the history of abuse that attracts abusers, I really think its because its a volunteer based organization and there are kids in it so it makes them accessible to abusers.
The point I was trying to make is that it really comes down to your local leadership, and the parents in your pack. We have a good pack, we have involved leadership, and the guidance from the larger BSA organization when applied seems to be working.
Any time you have kids, and an organized group where adults interact with them you will have this risk. Summer camps, Schools, Sports clubs, anything. If you look at the history of nearly all kid enrichment programs you will find pedophiles and abusers.
I had two in my high school both of whom were teachers of mine, and I only found out years after. One was protected by the administration, the other hid is paedophilia in a buried chest in the woods for years.