A 51-year-old director of the American organization Boy Scouts of America (BSA, in English) in downtown Orlando, Florida, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse of minors, local media reported Friday.
John Bruce Larsen, district executive for this organization in Orange County, was arrested today and faces "two counts of sexual assault on a child under the age of 12, another two counts of sexual assault on a child under the age of 18, and four more of lewd abuse of a child under the age of 12", according to the county sheriff’s office, picked up the WKMG TV channel.
The arrest came after detectives with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Sex Crimes Section obtained a warrant for Larsen’s arrest for the alleged assault charges.
Detectives believe there could be more victims of abuse allegedly committed by Larsen.
The BSA challenged the accusations, stating in a statement that "the actions allegedly committed by John Larsen are reprehensible and oppose everything the Boy Scouts of America stands for".
The organization added that "nothing else to know the accusations and his arrest "took immediate action to bar him (Larsen) from participating in ‘Scouting’".
According to the organization’s website, the "scouting" is a program "fun, hands-on learning and achievement that puts kids in the middle of the action and prepares them for today and for life".
According to the report, the parents of two children denounced that their children and a friend suffered abuse for years by the accused.
The victims told investigators they were "repeatedly touched inappropriately", and one of the minors pointed out that Larsen practiced sexual acts on him and touched him since he was eight years old, channel T31 picked up.
Larsen worked with children daily, going to schools to recruit boys to join the Boy Scouts of America, one of the largest youth organizations in the United States.
In 2020, BSA filed for bankruptcy, according to the NGO itself, to deal with lawsuits for abuse filed against members of that association, at a time when it is facing hundreds of lawsuits for sexual abuse by its members and a drastic reduction of the number of associates.
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