A former Atlantic City police officer is suing the Boy Scouts of America claiming he was sexually abused as a child, and demanding that the organization open its files showing how deep such abuses went.
Richard Halvorson, 47, claims he was assaulted around the ages of 10 and 11 by Angelo “Skip” Dellomo, while a member of Troop 6 out of Atlantic City.
Dellomo is among those listed in the so-called “perversion files,” which were part of an “ineligible volunteers” list the Boy Scouts kept of those who were kicked out following allegations.
Dellomo was suspended and banned in 1987, nearly a year after a letter said parents expressed concerns about how he ran his troop, which included allegations that to receive their Tenderfoot badges, the boys had to go into a bathroom one at a time, strip down and weigh themselves, then perform a “balance exercise” that included them being blindfolded with their legs spread apart and twisting from side to side.
Dellomo also wanted parents to visit the cabin only twice a year: for parent orientation and the Court of Honor.
He said that his “troop ran like a well-oiled machine and parents would only get in the way,” according to a letter in the files posted by the Los Angeles Times.
Halvorson’s abuse also included a bathroom and the Tenderfoot badge, given for physical fitness, according to the suit. But, he claims, rather than do any extra exercises, Dellomo sexually abused him.
The suit filed in Atlantic County Civil Court on Monday claims the Boy Scouts of America failed to protect its scouts in several ways, despite knowing the risks.
A 41-point list demands documents, including “all documents pertaining to any alleged incident of child abuse, child sexual abuse, or attempted child sexual abuse by Scoutmasters, or Assistant Scoutmasters, or adult volunteers in all Troops in the Jersey Shore Council, or predecessor New Jersey Councils, which are not reflected in the Ineligible Volunteer Files for the period 1916 to present.”
In an emailed statement sent to media Tuesday, the Boy Scouts of America said Halvorson's alleged abuser was suspended and banned from scouting after the allegations surfaced in late 1986, and that the allegations were forwarded to law enforcement at the time.
A hand-written notation on one of the letters does indicate it was forwarded to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, but nothing was done because “No proof!”
