Maplewood Scout Leader Accused Of Sex Abuse

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - More than 50 Boy Scout leaders who worked in New Jersey and were accused of sexual abuse were named by attorneys who represent victims on Tuesday and one of them was from Maplewood.

Steven Michael Ripley, of Maplewood was named, in the list. You can see the details of his indictment, charges and trial here.

The law firms of Greg Gianforcaro and Jeff Anderson & Associates provided the list of more than 50 Boy Scout leaders who worked in New Jersey and were named in the organization's "perversion files," according to Mike Finnegan, an attorney with the firm.

"Those are files held and quartered at the Boy Scouts of America headquarters, and those perversion files that they've had reflect that they have removed thousands of offenders of childhood sexual abuse over the years, and they have kept that in files secretly," said Jeff Anderson, the lead attorney in many of the litigation cases.

Lawyers for both firms say they have uncovered the names through various lawsuits that have been filed against the Boy Scouts of America.

Patch is identifying only those who were formally accused by law enforcement of sexual abuse. You can see the full list here.

The New Jersey list is a small fraction of the more than 7,800 people whom the Boy Scouts believed were involved in the sexual abuse of children, according to court testimony earlier this year from a psychiatry professor who audited the files.

Another press conference was held earlier on Tuesday revealing that more 130 Boy Scout leaders who worked in New York also have been accused of sexual abuse. No names from that state have been released at press time.

The Boy Scouts of America has released a statement 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."

Anderson says the Boy Scouts have files on sex abuse dating back 70 years, and he plans to file multiple lawsuits against the Boy Scouts on behalf of many victims.

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

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