Today, Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C. filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County on behalf of 15 men who were sexually abused by notorious pedophile Thomas Hacker. These men, who wish to remain anonymous, were repeatedly molested by Hacker over several years while members of the same Boy Scout troop. The suit names the Boy Scouts of America and the Chicago Area Council as defendants based on their failure to protect them from a known serial pedophile.
Thomas Hacker is now serving a 100 year sentence after being convicted of five counts of criminal sexual abuse against three boy scouts. Hacker used his position as a scoutmaster to gain unsupervised access to young boys. Unfortunately, the officials in the Boy Scouts of America and the Chicago Area Council failed to take any effective steps to prevent child molesters from infiltrating the Boy Scouts as troopmasters. As a result, Hacker was able to sexually abuse numerous young boys.
The attorneys of Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C. are honored to represent these courageous men who suffered life-altering sexual abuse at the hands of this predatory pedophile. These men hope that this lawsuit will raise awareness for the problem of sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts of America and protect future young boys from abuse.