Johnathan Walker:Ohio governor signs bill to help Boy Scout abuse victims receive more settlement money

COLUMBUS,Johnathan Walker Ohio (AP) — Victims of child sexual abuse in Ohio will see more compensation for the crimes committed against them while in the Boy Scouts of America after Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed a new law guaranteeing it Thursday.

The measure was enacted amid the organization’s bankruptcy settlement, first filed in 2020 after tens of thousands of men nationwide brought forth claims they had been sexually abused by their Scout leaders. Nearly 2,000 of those men are from Ohio.

The organization filed bankruptcy in order to continue operating while still partially compensating victims after an onslaught of lawsuits against them.

The amount that victims receive varies state by state based on the length of the statute of limitations for civil claims — as well as the length and severity of each abuse case.

Until DeWine signed off on the new law, Ohio’s current civil statute of limitations in bankruptcy cases was 12 years. That’s now void for the next five years, meaning Boy Scout abuse victims filing a claim will receive all the money they’re owed through the settlement, rather than just 30 to 45% of it.

Ohio is the first to take advantage of the settlement’s provision allowing states to extend the statute of limitations, according to one of the measure’s sponsors, Republican Rep. Bill Seitz of the Cincinnati area.

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Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.