The deadline for victims of sexual abuse to file is tomorrow, August 14th.

The Democrat & Chronicle reports, statewide, more than 92-hundred complaints have been filed as part of the Child Victims Act process. The final number may approach 10-thousand cases.

They include thousands of accusations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, more than a thousand against Boy Scout leaders, and still more against teachers, coaches, health care workers, and family members.
The volume of claims prompted four of the state’s eight Catholic Dioceses to file for bankruptcy protection, as did the Boy Scouts of America.

The Child Victims Act, or CVA, initially opened a one-year window for survivors to file civil lawsuits seeking compensation for the sexual abuse they suffered as children. The deadline was later extended by one year because of the COVID pandemic.

A suit filed Tuesday has Wellsville resident Matthew Morrision accusing the Council of negligence in preventing the sexual abuse by scout leader Pete Malinoski during a time period of 1971 to 1973.
The Allegheny Highlands Council is based in Falconer and serves Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties in New York and McKean and Potter counties in Pennsylvania. The Council is facing over 70 claims of abuse.

Those wishing to file claims under the Child Victims Act have until August 14th, which was extended until that time last year by Governor Andrew Cuomo due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Allegheny Highlands Council is being sued for compensatory damages and punitive damages in the case.

And on Friday, an unnamed person filed a Child Victims lawsuit against Lady of Loreto Roman Catholic Church. The suit alleges one of the church’s priests, Father William Ward, sexually abused the victim when they were a child between 1963 and 1967. The suit also wishes to see Father Ward brought to a trial by jury for his actions. The victim is being represented by Jeff Anderson and Associates of New York City and Attorney Steve Boyd of Williamsville, New York.

The family filed the lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Mayville last Friday, naming the Boy Scouts of America Inc., Allegheny Highlands Council Inc., and Donald Shriver of Lakewood as the defendants.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff in the case is the alleged victim’s parent. The case states the victim began participating in the local scouting program when he was 6-years-old. In August 2017, the child – who was 12 at the time – joined other members of the Lakewood troop for a weekend retreat at Camp Chickasaw in Meadville, Pa. Shriver was responsible for transporting the youth to the camp and serving as a chaperone. At the Camp Chickasaw, the lawsuit claims the youth was told to sleep in a lean-to or shack with Shriver and that was when the sexual assault occurred.

In February it was announced that Shriver was charged with third-degree felony charges of corruption of minors and unlawful contact with minor in a Pennsylvania court and in June he was sentenced to 11 to 24 months and five years probation. He was also sentenced to pay a $150 fine, court costs and have no contact with minor children unless they are biologically related to him.

According to a report from the Meadville Tribune, 74-year-old Donald Shriver of Lakewood will be going to trial on charges he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy during a 2017 camping event in East Mead Township, Crawford County. Shriver was the child’s scout leader at the time of an event at Camp Chickasaw, 8848 S. Wayland Road, from Aug. 18-20, 2017, according to the criminal complaint filed by police in the case.

According to a statement from the council’s executive Nathaniel Thornton to the Post-Journal -“Upon learning of these reports in late 2017, we removed this individual and prohibited him from any future participation in the Boy Scouts of America,” Thornton was quoted as saying.

Thornton also  said the council did everything it could to respond to the event so that law enforcement could take over.

Thornton also announced that scout leaders will be meeting to address the importance of youth protection training, the service that equips parents and leaders with the tools necessary to address suspected abuse, inappropriate behavior and bullying.

Shriver – meanwhile – was released on $25,000 unsecured bond. A trial in the case will be scheduled for the May term of criminal court, the Meadville Tribune reported.