Boy Scouts Of America Being Sued Over Sex Abuse In Chicago Area Troop
CHICAGO (CBSDFW) - More than a dozen lawsuits were filed against the Boy Scouts of America in a Chicago area court Monday, according to CBS Chicago. The suit alleges that the organization was negligent in allowing a convicted sexual predator to be a scout leader at a troop in southwest Burbank, Illinois in the late 1970s or 1980s.
The 15 suits name the Boy Scouts of America, which is based in Irving, Texas, and the Organization's Chicago Area Council as defendants.
The suits are seeking millions of dollars in damages.
The man at the center of the allegations is 81-year-old Thomas Hacker, also known as Thomas Edwards.
The suit alleges that despite Hacker's previous arrests for pedophilia and predatory nature, he was still able to join Troop 1600 over 30 years ago.
Hacker was sentenced to 100 years in prison in 1989 after he admitted to molesting hundreds of boys.
Read more at CBS Chicago.