John Buckland, who was sexually abused
by his Boy Scouts troop leader, says the abuse led him to consider
suicide.
Buckland is among the men abused by
Scout leaders listed in the Boy Scouts of America's so-called
“perversion files.” The files, which recently became public in
the course of a civil suit against the group, reveal that the
organization knew of hundreds, possibly thousands, of cases of sexual
molestation. Abusers were often simply asked to resign.
During an appearance on Anderson
Live!, Buckland said his abuse took place almost 30 years ago,
between the ages of 12 and 14.
“The secrecy is the demon in the
whole thing,” Buckland said. “For almost 30 years we were pieces
of paper filed away. And for now, we finally have a voice. We're
people now. And it's important to get this story out because, you
know I'm not the only victim in this. There were 12 others in my
case. And there's thousands of others. And it's essential that the
dialogue starts so that the things with the organization can be
corrected. So that people can be helped. So that generations can be
changed.”
“It spiraled me into drug use and
suicide attempts and you name it,” he added.
Buckland credited God for saving his
life. (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)