Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Abuse By Boy Scout Leaders In PA: Reports

A lawsuit was filed this week in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas detailing hundreds of cases of sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts, including numerous cases in Pennsylvania, according to attorneys and media reports.

A group of lawyers has banded together to represent the victims of Boy Scout abuse under the name "Abused in Scouting." The group represents at least 38 victims from Pennsylvania, according to NBC Philadelphia.

The lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania is in the name of a victim whom the suit alleges was abused hundreds of times over a five-year period in the late 1970s. It details that the boy, who was 12 or 13 when the abuse began, was victim of oral sexual assault, fondling, and repeated attempts at anal penetration, according to the Washington Post.

The suit further alleges that the Boy Scouts knew that sexual predators had "infiltrated scouting," and failed to act accordingly. Lawyers reportedly compared the systemic lack of action and cover-ups to the massive clergy sex abuse case in Pennsylvania that came to light a year ago.

Abused in Scouting ran ads and put out the word that they were looking for victims of abuse in the Boy Scouts to come forward. Many of the victims who did were in their 50s or, or even older, according to attorneys.

All told, about 350 Boy Scout leaders not previously accused of abuse were listed in the lawsuit.