Scout Leaders Quietly Removed, Documents Reveal

Scouts Canada Sex Abuse

First Posted: 02/17/2012 8:30 pm Updated: 02/21/2012 6:27 am


The CBC’s The Fifth Estate has uncovered details in two past sexual abuse cases handled by Scouts Canada that were never reported to police.


Recently uncovered documents show that in 1978 scouting leaders in Brockville, Ont., suspected there “may be several undesirables who have been involved in Scouting and removed discreetly without their files being flagged.”


CBC News learned the details of one of the new cases after a victim, Bill Van Asperen, asked Scouts Canada to break the confidentiality agreement in his civil suit against the Scouts in 2001.


Van Asperen’s documents led the CBC to Greg Giles, whose tale of abuse was mistakenly included in Bill Van Asperen’s file.


On the basis of these cases and several others documented by the CBC, the chief commissioner of Scouts Canada, Steve Kent, said on Thursday that despite previous denials, his organization now accepts that Scouts Canada did not report all allegations of abuse to the police in past decades.


Ontario Provincial Police told CBC News on Friday that new allegations of past sexual abuse by Scout leaders are being investigated.


The OPP won't comment on the status of the investigation or how many complainants may be involved.


A lawyer in London, Ont., Rob Talach, says he expects a lot more cases to be uncovered.


“There will be a number where the documentation that was created didn’t make it to the top. So we have to look at this as the tip of the iceberg on the overall problem.”


Former Scouts say police not told


CBC first reported in October 2011 that Scouts Canada signed out-of-court confidentiality agreements with more than a dozen child sex-abuse victims in recent years. Former Scouts said they felt muzzled and unable to get past the abuse since they could not talk about it.


Former Scout Van Asperen, 47, says he can no longer live “in the grey zone anymore.”


Van Asperen says he was especially upset when he watched Steve Kent say in December says that as far as the organization knew all allegations of sexual abuse were communicated to police.


Van Asperen says that while he was initially pleased with the apology, at this point he was disgusted. “Yeah, well we know that’s not true. It’s just not true.”


When he was finally able to speak after receiving permission from the Scouts, Van Asperen revealed that he was abused by an assistant Scout leader named John Brown, who, in 1978, invited some boys from the 8th troop over to watch a movie at his home in Brockville, Ont.


Without warning Brown showed the boys a pornographic film and then suggested the boys could masturbate, and he exposed himself.


“…And the hardest part as an adult looking back is as you know right now, there’s a lot of shame that goes with this type of coercion, and we don’t know it’s because we’re 13 years old and we’re being told by a guy who’s in his late 30s, if not his early 40s, that it’s OK, it’s normal,” says Van Asperen.


Brown was named a dangerous offender in 1997 and died in prison in 2010.


When Van Asperen, a cameraman with the CBC on disability, reviewed his files to prepare to discuss his case with the CBC, he retrieved a letter that showed that in 1978 the Scouts in Brockville suspected they had several pedophiles in their unit.


The letter says Brown and several other men from that area were “discreetly removed” by local Scouting officials.


The letter further stated the men are “known child molesters” and pointed out that their names had not been added to the confidential files.


Another boy in a Smiths Falls unit at the time was Greg Giles.


“In my case, if they would’ve went to the police appropriately, all this wouldn’t have happened. So, obviously no, they didn’t respond appropriately, they were covering their own ass.”


When Giles went to Prince Edward Island to a Scouting jamboree in 1977, another leader who had offered to go with the troop, Scouter John, came up to Giles, who was 14 at the time, and “asked me if he could have sex with me, oral sex and I said no.”


Giles told another leader what happened and instead of going to police, Scouter John convinced them Giles was making it all up to get out of paying back some pocket money he owed.


Giles was told to help Scouter John do yard work at his home. The abuse continued to the point where Giles had to barricade himself in the Scouting leader's kitchen. He escaped and took with him a note that Scouter John had given him asking for sexual favours.


The Scouts then conducted their own handwriting analysis of the note and concluded weeks later that Giles had been seduced.


“I guess it sounded better than molested back then but he seduced eight boys. They blackballed him from the organization, Scouts Canada.”


Giles was not happy with the outcome.


“I was thinking I’ve done the right thing. I’ve put a stop to this, only to hear that he was blackballed and everything was just brushed under the table.”


It is believed that Scouter John died 10 or 15 years ago.


Giles has decided to sue Scouts Canada for not believing him and not reporting Scouter John to the police.


If you have any information on this story or other investigations, please contactinvestigations@cbc.ca.


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The CBC’s The Fifth Estate has uncovered details in two past sexual abuse cases handled by Scouts Canada that were never reported to police. Recently uncovered documents sho...
The CBC’s The Fifth Estate has uncovered details in two past sexual abuse cases handled by Scouts Canada that were never reported to police. Recently uncovered documents sho...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
piceaglauca
The picture says it all....
07:03 PM on 02/18/2012
It's not about finding a leader. It is about the values they believe in and the standard they wish to maintain. If the organization did their due diligence these issues wouldn't arise. One might want to look into the private lives of those in the central office. People tend to deflect things when they themselves hae something to hide.
04:08 PM on 02/18/2012
Smewhere and somehow, some leftie whack is going to blame Harper
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wendyweb47
Keeping an open mind
03:47 PM on 02/18/2012
Sadly, this organization was started by Lord Baden Powell with all the right intentions. To give youth an opportunity to learn good values, appreciate nature and respect others. However, over the years the lack of qualified and able leaders has put Scouts Canada in a difficult position. Cancel programs or hang onto less than desirable leaders. In the area I live, as far as I'm aware, the issue was not sexual abuse. The issue was that in an area that served thousands of young scouts there were 7 affairs among leaders going on. A number of years ago the organization allowed women to become leaders and this has created a huge issue. When I wrote to Scouts Canada about it a number of years ago their response was basically "we don't inquire into the private lives of our leaders because we have such a hard time attracting them in the first place".

Sadly, maybe its time for Scouts to end and possibly a new organization with higher standards to take its place. Baden Powell must be turning in his grave to know what happened to the group he started with such high hopes and expectations.
10:33 AM on 02/19/2012
I am a was a female Scout Leader for 7 years (I'm 25). I would still be doing it had scool and work constraints become too much. In all my time, I don't believe I was aware of a single affair among leaders. Leaders in my area were generally parents wishing to connect with their children and offer them a chance at socialization, or people who had grown up within the movement.

Everything is on a per-account basis. As much as I wish it was only people joining with pure intentions, obviously that isn't the case, but you can't sterotype an entire group based on the actions of the few.

Should Scouts Canada have stricter rules and background checks on potential leaders? Yes; as it stands all one has to do is pass a Police Records Check for work with vulnerable individuals. It's a start, but these people need to be checked up on.

Should they look into the personal lives of their Leaders? ... Maybe. But I don't think it's time to end Scouts. They need to be refurbished; kids need organizations like this. They promote overall growth and strong values. Some kids just aren't meant soley for competitive sports etc. Scouts as an organization isn't living up to its potential anymore, but it isn't beyond repair.
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wendyweb47
Keeping an open mind
03:14 PM on 02/19/2012
I totally agree that children (especially with so many coming from single parent homes) need organizations like Scouts. If they are able to clean house it would be great. I applaud your dedication to youth - I too was a leader - Girl Guides - and loved it. I also loved being in this organization as a child.