On January 15, 2022, Volusia County police officers arrested John Bruce Larsen, a Central Florida Boy Scouts district executive, for multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with minors. Larsen, age 52, was charged with two counts of sexual battery on a child less than 12 years of age, two counts of sexual battery on a child older than 12 but younger than 18, and four counts of lewd molestation for children under 12.
According to media reports, the Orange County Sheriff's Office received multiple allegations that Larsen sexually abused at least three underage boys over an undetermined period of time. The mother of two of the victims told the detectives that one of her sons had been sexually abused by Larsen since he was 8 years old. Her other son also claims Larsen touched him inappropriately while visiting Larsen's home.
The third victim described encounters with Larsen to be uncomfortable and that he told Larsen to leave him alone, but he wouldn't listen. As of now, there is no indication of their current ages or how long this was going on.
According to his LinkedIn profile, John Bruce Larsen served as a district executive for the Boy Scouts' Central Florida chapter since 2018. It states that he was tasked with developing and implementing educational programs, including STEM. The arrest report said Larsen works with children daily and goes to schools to recruit children to join the boy scouts. Detectives believe that because of the role he held in the community, they believe there could be more victims.
The Boy Scouts of America said they are fully cooperating with law enforcement. Eric Magendatz, CEO of the Boy Scouts of America's Central Florida Council, released a statement, "The actions alleged to have been committed by John Larsen are reprehensible and opposed to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands. Upon learning of these allegations and his arrest, we took immediate action to prohibit him from participation in Scouting."
As of Friday afternoon, his name has been removed from the online BSA staff list of the Central Florida Council.
The Boy Scouts of America filed for federal bankruptcy protection in February 2020 as a result of numerous lawsuits filed against it for sexual abuse of children by Scoutmasters and others. Attorney Adam Horowitz and his team of attorneys handle sexual abuse cases against the Boy Scouts of America at both the local and national levels in your state and nationwide. If you or someone you know was molested during their participation in the Boy Scouts, contact Horowitz Law or call us toll-free at 954-641-2100 now for a free consultation.