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Something Sinister Was Woven Into the Fabric of the Boy Scouts

Young boys were isolated in remote locations and left to be preyed on repeatedly.

Boy Scout Illustration (Library of Congress)
By Brianna Wheeler

The Boy Scouts are an American Institution. But within that institution existed some of the worst breaches of trust.

Young boys were isolated in remote locations and left to be preyed on repeatedly by pedophile scoutmasters who were cycled through the Boy Scouts of America’s leadership like deranged priests through the Catholic Church.

For years, the BSA successfully kept the details of these abuses from the public, until a Multnomah County Circuit Court case set a precedent for compensating survivors. That opened the floodgates for more survivors to come forward, not only bankrupting the Boy Scouts, but changing the narrative of the institution, which was once synonymous with virtue.

Today on the Dive, we’ll talk to former Boy Scout and WW reporter Nigel Jaquiss, a co-producer of the new film Leave No Trace, which traces the rise and fall of the BSA.

Listen on Spotify.

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