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Barb and Brad Parker of Elko
As posted by Dylan Wolf Harris in the Elko Daily Free Press, an Elko, Nevada-area married couple have both been arrested due to allegations that the husband, Bradley Parker, sexually abused four young children he met through his wife, Barbara Parker, via her babysitting services and through Girl Scouts.
Barbara was a Girl Scout volunteer in the Sierra Nevada council of the Girl Scouts of the USA, and Harris noted in his artcle that “police served a search warrant on the couple’s South Seventh Street apartment and seized computers, cell phones and other digital devices. At that time, Barbara Parker denied wrongdoing or knowledge of the allegations.”
The article went on to state that Mr. Parker, 49, allegedly also took sexually inappropriate photos of the children. According to the article, upon viewing the photos, police saw that the 42 year-old Mrs. Parker was as involved in the crimes as her husband.
Several cases have come out in recent months about men and women who are accused of sexually abusing children through their ties with the Girl Scouts of the USA.
- Last week, a 47 year-old man in Spotsylvania, Virginia, Chad Leroy Miller, was arrested on charges that he allegedly sexually abused a 14 year-old girl in his wife’s Girl Scout troop. He had volunteered to chaperone camping trips and outing for the troop, and this would have given him access to the young girls in the troop.
- Four months ago, Andre Acosta-Ruiz of Bellingham, WA was sentenced to three years in prison for sexually abusing one teen girl and for asking another girl to send him a sexually explicit photo of herself to him. He was volunteering for the Girl Scouts as a mentor at their Girl Scouts camp in Whatcom County back in 2012.
The multiple recent reports about abuse in Girl Scouts raises the question: are the Girl Scout’s leadership implementing all necessary policies to prevent abuse in their ranks?
As we’ve seen in numerous past cases involving the Boy Scouts of America, youth serving organizations are supported by parents who trust that their children are being served by honest and safe troop leaders and volunteers. When that trust is exploited by sexual predators, the organization must change its policies or be held accountable.
If you have been abused by a scout leader and want to speak with someone confidentially, please call us toll-free at 1-888-407-0224 or email us at info@oandc.com.
