Allegations of child sexual abuse have been made against 97 Georgia men who were in leadership roles from the '60s through mid-'80s. They make up a small portion of the total number of men — over a thousand — recently outed by documents released Thursday by the Boy Scouts of America.
The number of boys molested by these men is more than 4,000.
Forty-four Scout leaders from the metro-Atlanta area were named, including men from Stone Mountain, Lithonia, Woodstock and Marietta.
These men were not reported to authorities, but kept in a file to prevent them from volunteering with the organization again. Some, however, continued in the roles.
The files are known as the "ineligible volunteer" files. After one Pennsylvania man admitted to "acts of perversion" with scouts, he resigned. An executive with the organization wrote the following, as first reported on NBCNews.com:
“If it is acceptable with you, I would like to let this case drop. [He] is undergoing professional treatment in an effort to stabilize his emotional stability. He recognizes that he has had a problem and he is personally taking steps to resolve this situation. The community involved is rather unique and one father has threatened legal action which could only injure the Boy Scouts of America.
Therefore, I would suggest that we let it drop. My personal opinion in this particular case is, ‘if it don't stink, don't stir it.’"
The man was later re-admitted as a leader within the Boy Scouts organization.
In other news
A New York appeals court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, an act that "bars federal recognition of [same-sex marriages] and says other states cannot be forced to recognize them," according to CNN.com.
The decision comes after 83-year-old widow Edith Windsor sued the federal government after she was charged for estate taxes after her wife passed away and she was "denied the benefit of spousal deductions," according to CNN.
Windsor and her partner of 44 years, Thea Spyer, were married in 2007, according to the New York Times. Spyer passed away in 2009.
The court determined that America's gay population has suffered a "history of discrimination."
Note: Gay marriage is illegal in Georgia. The Constitution of the State of Georgia added a Defense of Marriage Amendment in 2004. It was struck down in May 2006, then reinstated by the Georgia Supreme Court on July 6, 2006.
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A 96-year-old man in India claims to be the world's oldest father after his wife — no longer a spring chicken herself — gave birth to their second child. Ramjit Raghav, a farmer, and his wife, Shakuntala Devi, 52, have only been married for ten years. Raghav, a former wrestler, claims to have been celibate up until that point.
His secret to success? Sex three times a night and a diet of fruit and dairy products, according to Ninemsn.com.
There are a few inconsistencies in media reports about the couple, including what Raghav eats. The Sun reports that he lives off of a diet of milk, almonds of butter. His wife, Shakuntala, was reported to be 60 two years ago in the same story.
Whatever the case, congratulations to the new parents.
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