Scouts can be liable for abuse, judge rules

IDAHO FALLS – A judge has ruled that the Boy Scouts of America and the Grand Teton Council can be held liable for the actions of a camp program director convicted of molesting two brothers.

The decision Friday by 6th District Court Judge Ronald Bush opens the doors for plaintiffs Adam Steed, 23, and Ben Steed, 26, to seek civil damages for their molestation by Brad Stowell in 1997.

The Pocatello brothers are seeking at least $10,000 in damages and attorney fees of at least $7,500. The two men say Scout officials violated their own guidelines by ignoring multiple warnings about Stowell.

The ruling means that the case could go before a jury for a trial, the Idaho Falls Post-Register newspaper reported Saturday.

According to the brothers’ claim, Stowell had been identified to several Scout leaders as a pedophile more than six years before his arrest at Camp Little Lemhi in Swan Valley. He pleaded guilty to molesting the two boys, was jailed for 150 days and put on probation for 15 years. He recently was returned to prison for violating terms of his release.

Lawyers for the Boy Scouts argued that the Steeds should be suing Stowell, but Bush said a corporation can be convicted of a criminal offense if it fails to do something required by law.

This is the third lawsuit stemming from Stowell’s years in scouting. The first two were settled out of court.

Attorney Laurie Gaffney of Idaho Falls, who successfully sued the Scouts in another case, said Bush’s opinion was well-reasoned.

On Friday, the judge dismissed the brothers’ claims of assault and battery, citing a five-year statute of limitations on personal injury claims after a victim’s 18th birthday.