Boy Scouts of America reaches historic settlement with abuse victims

The Boy Scouts of America reached an $850 million settlement with tens of thousands of people who said they were sexually abused as children by leaders and volunteers in the organization.

This is the largest settlement in a child sexual abuse case in United States history, NBC News reports. More than 84,000 people are part of the lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America, and attorney Ken Rothweiler's firm represents 16,800 of them. He said that most of his clients are in their 60s and 70s, and were abused as teens. "I am pleased that both the BSA and their local councils have stepped up to be the first to compensate the survivors," Rothweiler said.

Last year, amid mounting legal costs, the Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and said there were two things they hoped the organization could do: "equitably compensate victims who were harmed during their time in Scouting and continue carrying out its mission for years to come." Boy Scouts of America also said that 90 percent of the sexual abuse allegations "occurred more than 30 years ago," and there are new safety measures now in place to keep kids safe, including background checks for all volunteers and staff and a ban on one-on-one interactions between Scouts and adults.

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