$1.4M Jury Award For Boy Scout Sexually Abused By Mormon Troop Leader

A Portland, Oregon jury has awarded $1.4M to a man sexually abused by the scoutmaster of his Mormon Church sponsored Boy Scout troop. The scoutmaster had confessed to church and Boy Scout leaders that he molested at least 17 scouts, yet he was allowed to remain in contact with the boys. The LDS does not have to pay their portion of the judgment because they settled out of court with the plaintiff last year.

Nine out of the 12 jurors found Boy Scouts of America and its local body, the Portland-based Cascade Pacific Council, negligent in the lawsuit brought by plaintiff Kerry Lewis, who is now 38. The Boy Scouts of America said in a statement on its Web site that it plans to appeal the verdict. ""We are gravely disappointed with the verdict. We believe that the allegations made against our youth protection efforts are not valid... We are saddened by what happened to the plaintiff. The actions of the man who committed these crimes do not represent the values and ideals of the Boy Scouts of America." he jury found that the Boy Scouts of America was liable for 60 percent of the negligence and the Cascade Pacific Council was responsible for 15 percent. Together they will have to pay Lewis $1.05 million.

The punitive damages portion of the trial begins next week. Lawyers for the plaintiff are asking for another $25M.