Former East Brunswick Boy Scout Leader Accused Of Child Sex Abuse

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — A man who served as an assistant scout leader for the East Brunswick Boy Scouts in the late 1980s was arrested for molesting a Boy Scout at a well-known western New Jersey Scout camp, according to Boy Scout internal records that were made public for the first time Tuesday.

The man is Joseph Thiel, who would be about 78 years old today. He served as an assistant scout leader for East Brunswick Troop 223 for one year, from September 1986 to September 1987. Thiel was 46 years old and lived in North Brunswick at the time.

According to the records, Thiel confessed to the crime. When the Boy Scouts of America were made aware of his arrest and subsequent guilty plea, they dismissed him from the organization. Today that troop is East Brunswick Cub Scout Troop 223.

This information was made public Tuesday by the law firms of Greg Gianforcaro and Jeff Anderson & Associates. Lawyers for both firms say they uncovered the names of alleged abusers through various lawsuits they filed against the Boy Scouts of America by victims who say they were sexually abused.

Jeff Anderson, the lead attorney in many of the litigation cases, said the Boy Scouts national headquarters has files on sex abuse dating back 70 years. He said he released this previously-confidential information to inform the public.

"When we got this information, we had to sound this alarm," Anderson said.

Anderson and his team said they have identified more than 50 Scout leaders who worked in New Jersey over the years, and who were accused of sexual abuse. Patch only identified 21 people: Those who were formally accused by law enforcement of sexual abuse. You can read the whole list here: 52 NJ Boy Scout Leaders Accused Of Sexual Abuse Named

Thiel was one of those 21. You can access his files here: http://noakerlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/joseph-j-thiel.pdf

(Noaker Law Firm, which is hosting the Boy Scout files on its online server, is the same Minnesota-based law firm that represents victims in several sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the Catholic church.)

According to the Boy Scout files, Thiel was arrested by New Jersey State Police in Sussex County for the incident, which occurred at Kittatinny Mountain Scout Reservation, a now-permanently closed Scouting camp in western New Jersey. The boy was a camper. The child reported the incident after the troop left the camp.

Once the Boy Scouts were made aware of the incident, they dismissed Thiel. Boy Scout officials also visited the boy and his family after the incident was reported, and wrote in a letter they "seemed to be in good spirits," despite the molestation.

"We have just been informed about the recent incident at KMSR (Kittatinny Mountain Scout Reservation) Summer Camp and about your subsequent guilty plea," read a September 29, 1987 letter to Thiel from East Brunswick Scout Master Gary Potash. "Because of these charges, we regret to inform you that you will not be allowed to return to Troop 223 nor will Council allow you to remain in Scouting."

The Boy Scouts of America released a statement Tuesday saying that the organization cares deeply "about all victims of child abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in scouting."

"We believe victims, we support them, and we have paid for unlimited counseling by a provider of their choice," the statement read. "Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children."

"At no time have we ever knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth, and we mandate that all leaders, volunteers and staff members nationwide immediately report any abuse allegation to law enforcement," the Scouts said.

Related: 52 NJ Boy Scout Leaders Accused Of Sexual Abuse Named