Scouting suit argued before Idaho high court

POCATELLO, Idaho – The state Supreme Court should dismiss a sexual-molestation civil lawsuit against an eastern Idaho Scouting group because the abused youths missed a filing deadline and because the group didn’t have direct control over a camp staffer already convicted in the case, the Boy Scouts of America’s Grand Teton Council argued Friday.

Brothers Benjamin Steed, 22, and Adam Steed, 24, were victims of convicted child molester Brad Stowell during his tenure at Camp Little Lemhi in Swan Valley, Idaho, in 1997. The Steeds sued the Grand Teton Council for acting negligently and are seeking thousands in damages and attorney fees.

They claim Scouting leaders knew of Stowell’s history of abuse and should never have allowed him to work with vulnerable kids.

A 6th District Court judge in 2006 allowed their lawsuit to proceed, but the council now wants Idaho’s highest court to dismiss it.

A ruling isn’t expected for several months.

Following the Grand Teton Council’s arguments, Mitchell Brown, the Steeds’ lawyer, told the justices that the group’s interpretation of the case – in particular its contention that Stowell wasn’t under its custody or care – was flawed and should be no reason to dismiss the lawsuit.

“This argument is almost shocking and disturbing to me,” Brown told the court.

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. He pleaded guilty to molesting the two boys, was jailed for 150 days and put on probation for 15 years. He was returned to prison in 2005 for violating terms of his release.