CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ohio — A former Boy Scout leader is charged with sexually abusing a child and 100 counts of child pornography.
Arthur Sorensen, Jr., 36, is in the Crawford County Jail and 10TV found the Scouts had taken action against him before this accuser came forward.
A Galion police report lays out the case against Arthur Sorensen:
In April, a 14-year-old boy accused Sorensen of repeated sex acts in 2017, when the boy was 12 years old.
In June, he was indicted on three counts of rape, one count of sexual battery and one count of pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor.
According to the police report, Sorensen met the boy at a Cub Scout camp-out.
Crawford County Prosecutor Matt Crall says while investigating the case, he learned Sorensen had been an Assistant Scout Master for Troop 4131, based in Richland County.
He says in the summer of 2016, the Scouts terminated Sorensen for violating the youth protection policy.
"What we found is the Boy Scouts have been very proactive long before this ever happened. They had kicked him off of their volunteer rolls. He was prohibited from volunteering for any of their camps," Crall said.
Crall says there had been two complaints about Sorensen.
In one instance, it was alleged he had been in a hammock with a child. In another, he was accused of having one-on-one contact with a child.
"Being alone with children — that they strictly prohibit. You're never supposed to have one adult one-on-one with one child," Crall said.
He says that's when the Scouts ejected Sorensen, two years before much more serious allegations emerged.
"You can't prevent everything — but organizations like the Boy Scouts — I believe are doing what they can. And as a parent, if you feel even uncomfortable, bring that to the leader's attention. If it happens to be a leader, there's a hierarchy above that, that you can take those complaints to, and as this case shows, they will be heard."
In addition to the rape charges, this week, a grand jury indicted Sorensen on 100 counts of child pornography.
In a statement to 10TV, the Boy Scouts of America Buckeye Council said:
"The behavior described in these reports is reprehensible and runs counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands. This individual is not currently registered in our programs and has been prohibited from any future participation in Scouting.
The safety and protection of children is the most important priority of the Boy Scouts of America. The BSA has established a multi-layered process of safeguards, including the following, all of which help to act as barriers to abuse:
- Ongoing mandatory youth-protection training for all volunteers, along with educational materials for parents and Scouts that is prominently featured in handbooks and integrated into our programs;
- A formal leader selection process that includes criminal background checks and other screening efforts;
- A leadership policy that requires at least two youth-protection trained adults be present with youth at all times, and prohibits one-on-one situations where adults would have any interactions alone with children – either in person, online, or via text;
- Prompt mandatory reporting to the authorities of any allegation or suspicion of abuse;
- A 24/7 Scouts First Helpline (1-844-SCOUTS1 or 1-844-726-8871) and email contact address (scouts1st@scouting.org) to access counseling and help needed to report any suspected abuse or inappropriate behavior; and
- The Volunteer Screening Database, a tool the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for all youth-serving organizations, to prevent individuals that were removed from Scouting from re-registering.”