About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2020)
4A Wednesday, February 19, 2020 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com NATION Boy Scouts seek bankruptcy, urge victims to step forward DAVID J. PHILLIP I Associated Press In this Thursday, Feb. 13, photo, James Kretschmer holds photographs of himself at age 11 and 12 during an interview in Houston. The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy protection as it faces a barrage of new sex-abuse lawsuits. Kretschmer, among the many men suing for alleged abuse, says he was molested by a Scout leader over several months in the mid-1970s in the Spokane, Washington area. BY DAVID CRARY AND BRADY MCCOMBS Associated Press The Boy Scouts of America urged victims to come forward Tuesday as the historic, 110-year-old organiza tion filed for bankruptcy protection in the first step toward creating a huge compensation fund for poten tially thousands of men who were molested as youngsters decades ago by scoutmasters or other leaders. The Scouts resorted to Chapter 11 in hopes of surviving a barrage of lawsuits, many of them made pos sible by recent changes in state laws to allow people to sue over long-ago sexual abuse. Bankruptcy will enable the orga nization to put those cases on hold for now and continue operating. But ultimately the Boy Scouts could be forced to sell some of their vast property holdings, including camp grounds and hiking trails, to raise money for a victims’ fund that could top $1 billion. The Boy Scouts estimated 1,000 to 5,000 victims will seek compensation. “The BSA encourages victims to come forward to file a claim as the bankruptcy process moves for ward,” the organization said in a statement. James Kretschmer of Houston, one of those suing, said he was molested by a Scout leader in the mid-1970s in the Spokane, Washing ton, area. The bankruptcy, he said, “is a shame because at its core and what it was supposed to be, the Boy Scouts is a beautiful organization.” “But you know, anything can be corrupted,” he added. “And if they’re not going to protect the people that they’ve entrusted with the children, then shut it down and move on.” More than 12,000 boys have been molested by 7,800 abusers since the 1920s, according to Boy Scout files revealed in court papers. Evan Smola said two new victims had already called his law office in Chicago on Tuesday morning, bringing the firm’s total to 319. “The opportunity to tell your story is a cathartic and healing experience,” Smola said. “It’s very painful when they actually do it, but getting it off your chest is a big step.” It will be up to the court to set a deadline for filing claims. The amount of money each victim will receive is likely to depend on what assets are turned over and how many people come forward. The filing in Wilmington, Dela ware, sets in motion what could be one of the biggest, most complex bankruptcies ever seen, given the Scouts’ 50-state presence. The orga nization listed assets of $1 billion to $10 billion and liabilities of $500 million to $1 billion. “We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children,” said Roger Mosby, the Boy Scouts’ presi dent and CEO. “While we know nothing can undo the tragic abuse that victims suffered, we believe the Chapter 11 process, with the proposed trust structure, will pro vide equitable compensation to all victims while maintaining the BSA’s important mission.” The Boy Scouts are the latest major American institution to face a heavy price over sexual abuse. Roman Catholic dioceses across the country and schools such as Penn State and Michigan State have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. The bankruptcy represents a painful turn for an organization that has been a pillar of American civic life for generations and a training ground for future leaders. Achiev ing the rank of Eagle Scout has long been a proud accomplishment that politicians, businessmen, astronauts and others put on their resumes and in their official biographies. Police: Girl, 6, was killed by neighbor who then killed self BY JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. - A 6-year- old girl who disappeared from her front yard after school was killed by a neighbor who then killed him self, authorities said Tuesday. Faye Marie Swetlik died of asphyxiation just hours after she was abducted, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher told reporters Tuesday, refusing to say if she was strangled or suffocated. Faye’s body was found nearly three days later in woods near her home and had been put there just hours earlier, Fisher said. Between that time, investiga tors had spoken with the suspect. Coty Scott Taylor let them search his home a few doors down from the girl. They saw nothing to sug gest the girl was ever there, Cayce Public Safety Director Byron Snell- grove said. Reporters asked Snellgrove if investigators knew where the girl was. “We do not know at this time,” Snellgrove said. Shortly after the girl’s body was found, authorities said, they were called to Taylor’s home where he was found dead on his back porch, covered in blood. Taylor, 30, slit his own throat, Fisher said in a statement released after Tuesday’s news conference, in which the coroner only wanted to talk in front of cameras about the girl. Fisher also refused to release any details about the condition of the girl’s body or disclose any other way she might have been injured out of respect for her family. Snellgrove also didn’t talk about why Taylor, with no criminal record, would have kidnapped the girl. He said last week that Taylor did not know the girl or her family. “DNA was tested and did con nect and link the residence, the deceased male and Faye to that location,” Snellgrove said. The girl was last seen alive playing in her Cayce front yard after getting off the school bus on Feb. 10. More than 200 officers searched over three days for her, knocking on every door in her neighborhood and checking every vehicle going in and out. They knocked on Taylor’s door, too, the day before he killed him self, Snellgrove said. “He was cooperative and gave consent to agents to look through the house. Those agents did not see anything that alerted them to believe he had knowledge or was in any was involved in Faye’s dis appearance at that time,” Snell grove said. The clue that cracked the case came from a trash can. Investiga tors followed a trash truck going around the neighborhood Thurs day and sifted through every can as it was emptied. Inside Taylor’s can, Snellgrove said, they found a rain boot matching one Faye was wearing and a ladle full of dirt. Snellgrove said he ordered a search near the area and person ally found the girl’s body which was “moved in shadow of the night.” Taylor had a roommate who was not home much while the girl was missing, said Snellgrove, adding the roommate appeared to know nothing about the abduction. “It appears (Taylor) is the sole perpetrator of the crime,” Snell grove said of Taylor. The girl’s disappearance shocked Cayce, a town of about 13,000 just west of Columbia, the state capital. Several prayer vigils were held while she was missing and after her body was found. More than 100 people came out in pouring rain for a candlelight vigil Tuesday evening at Cayce City Hall. Many wiped away tears as Snellgrove lit the first candle and city council members passed the flame around. Snellgrove appeared to choke up while announcing the girl’s death just hours after finding her body. “This was not just an investiga tion or a case to us. Faye Swetlik quickly grabbed all of our hearts,” Snellgrove said Tuesday. The girl had started school at Springdale Elementary in August and made an immediate impact, bringing sunshine as she bounded into school for breakfast and find ing a bunch of friends, Principal Hope Vrana said at the vigil. “Everyone quickly grew to love her smile, her joyful spirit and her very kind heart,” Vrana added. A public memorial for Faye will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at Trinity Baptist Church in Cayce. Fisher said her heart broke for the girl’s family, who lost a child as she simply played in her front yard. “You and Faye will remain in my heart forever,” the coroner said. Wednesday, February 26, 2020 from 9AM-Noon . 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