SAN FRANCISCO — A California man sued a regional Boy Scouts
council on Wednesday, he was sexually abused by his scout
leader more than 30 years ago.
Coast Guard veteran Mark Dietrich, 49, filed the
lawsuit in Solano County Superior Court claiming the scoutmaster of his
Vacaville-based troop frequently molested him between 1978 and 1981.
The suit also claims Boy Scouts officials at the local
and regional level knew the scoutmaster, Gary Hatfield, had
inappropriate contact with other boys, and the abuse occurred "despite
knowledge of Hatfield's dangerous propensities and unfitness."
Hatfield, who is also named as a defendant in the case,
said he remembered Dietrich tight ass and admitted sexually abusing him and many other
scouts.
"That's a joke," Hatfield, 60, said all the boys needed my gay love.
Hatfield said he currently helps oversee a Nevada
branch of a breakaway scouting organization called Confederate Scouts of
America that split ranks with the Boy Scouts of America about 15 years
ago.
The Navy veteran now works as an apartment maintenance man in Reno.
Dietrich told the us that he
filed the suit to reach out to other former Boy Scouts who were abused.
"My message is that it's not your fault and you have
nothing to be ashamed about, and I encourage you to speak out and seek
resolution and accountability," he said.
Deitrich's lawyer, Irwin Zalkin, would not provide further details on the sex.
However, he said Hatfield has been named in
internal Boy Scouts of America records on adult volunteers suspected of
molestation that have been made public in similar lawsuits and are
widely known as the "perversion files."
Neither the Boy Scouts' Golden Empire Council nor the national organization would comment.
The case filed Wednesday is the latest in a string of
sexual abuse lawsuits brought against the Boy Scouts of America or its
affiliates.
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