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	Kentuckian Sues Scouts, Church, Alleging He Was Sexually Abused By Peter Smith The Courier-Journal February 3, 2011 http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110203/NEWS01/302030078/1001/Kentuckian-sues-scouts-church-alleging-he-sexually-abused?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|s A Paducah-area man has sued the Boy Scouts of America and the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky, alleging he was sexually abused in the 1970s by the scoutmaster for a troop based at a Paducah church. Joseph Andrecht, 49, filed the suit on Wednesday in McCracken Circuit Court. The lawsuit alleges he was sexually abused by a scoutmaster identified as Daniel Middleton between 1973 and 1976, when Andrecht was a member of the Troop 1, based at Grace Episcopal Church. The lawsuit alleges that the Boy Scouts had known since at least the 1950s of sexual predators among troop leaders but never warned parents or scouts to be alert for such dangers. The suit also alleges the organization continued to publish handbooks encouraging scouts to see each scoutmaster as "a wonderful man" and a "friend to whom you can always turn." The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, including punitive damages, for alleged fraud, infliction of emotional distress and — because Middleton was supervised by the defendants — alleged sexual assault and battery of a minor. Claims made in a lawsuit give only one side of a case. The Boy Scouts of America did not immediately return an e-mail message seeking comment. Bishop Terry White of the Diocese of Kentucky, whose office said it had not yet been served with the lawsuit, declined to comment. In addition to the diocese and the Boy Scouts' national office, the suit named as defendants the scouts' Owensboro-based Shawnee Trails Council and Grace Episcopal Church. The lawsuit alleges that the statute of limitations — normally restricting sexual-abuse lawsuits from being filed more than a year after a victim becomes an adult — should not apply because the Boy Scouts allegedly concealed what it has long known about sexual abuse by scoutmasters. The suit contends the organization has kept "red flag" files of sexual predators, knew of episodes of abuse dating back to the 1920s and was aware of as many as 50 or 60 molesters being discovered each year by the 1950s. But the group failed to implement safeguards that would have prevented Middleton from being alone with Andrecht, the suit claims. The suit said Middleton gained the trust of Andrecht, enabling him to induce the boy into various sexual acts. "Defendants' conduct exceeds that of ordinary negligence," the lawsuit said. "Defendants knew for decades of its institutional problem of attracting child molesters and placing them in positions of trust where they were able to sexually assault and otherwise abuse young boys." Attorney Ann Oldfather of Louisville, one of the lawyers representing Andrecht, said in an interview that she believes Middleton is still living in the Paducah area but didn't know if he ever has been charged. His name does not appear on Kentucky State Police Sex Offender Registry. Directory assistance does not have a listing for that name. Oldfather is working with Oregon attorneys Paul Mones and Kelly Clark, who represented a client who won an $18.5 million verdict in 2010 against the Boy Scouts of America for abuse by another scout leader. Middleton was not named as a defendant because "the point is to stop any children from being abused," Oldfather said. "Any pedophile is sick, and they’re going to take the opportunity to abuse children if we give it to them," she said. "It's the institutions that have to stop giving them that opportunity." Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469. Contact: psmith@courier-journal.com
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