52 NJ Boy Scout Leaders Accused Of Sexual Abuse Named

Fifty-two Boy Scout leaders who worked in New Jersey and were accused of sexual abuse were named by attorneys who represent victims on Tuesday. A list of people who were credibly accused is below.

The law firms of Greg Gianforcaro and Jeff Anderson & Associates provided the list of 52 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. Here is the list of 21 names, with links to their records :

• William Cramer, Sparta
• John T Fitzgerald, Barnegat
• William Howard Holzschuh, Belmar
• Herman G. Meyer, Blairston
• Gregory Fleming, Cedar Grove
• Arnold Edward Codispoti, Cedar Grove
• Dieter Cathcart, Cherry Hill
• Joseph J. Thiel, East Brunswick
• John Philip Bakelaar, Edison
• Charles Paul Geiger, Egg Harbor
• Roy A. Franklin, Lincoln Park
• Steven Michael Ripley, Maplewood
• Louis Schwartz, Mount Holly
• Richard M. Galdon, Newark
• Michael J. Abidiwan, Nutley
• John Sileo, Nutley
• Joel Michael Farley, Oak Ridge
• James Lawlor, Ocean
• James Cooper, Paramus
• Tibor J. Koncz, Perth Amboy
• William Pratt, Toms River

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 that 130 Boy Scout leaders who worked in New York also have been accused of sexual abuse.

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 Ssouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children.

"Throughout our history, we have enacted strong youth protection policies to prevent future abuse, including mandatory youth protection trainings and a formal leader-selection process that includes criminal background checks," the statement continued. "Since the 1920s, we have maintained a volunteer screening database to prevent individuals accused of abuse or inappropriate conduct from joining or re-entering our programs, a practice recommended in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control (and Prevention) for all youth-serving organizations."

"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."

During the the Newark press conference, the lawyers demanded that the BSA release the identities, background information and files on "all BSA perpetrators in New Jersey who have been accused of sexual misconduct with minors."

They also plan to discuss "the troubling magnitude of sexual abuse of minors in Boy Scouts by Scout leaders over decades," the lawyers say

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.