Lawsuit Against Disgraced Boy Scout Leader Settled

Attorneys have reached a settlement in a lawsuit against a former Burnsville scoutmaster convicted of molesting four boys in his troop.

However, the battle is not over for 48-year-old Peter Stibal II, ex-leader of Burnsville's Troop 650. In June of 2011, Stibal pleaded guilty to multiple counts child molestation and possession of child pornography, though he simultaneously insisted that he was innocent. He is currently serving a 21 year sentence for his crimes.

Not long after his sentencing, two civil suits were filed by the victims against Stibal and the organizations that they say sheltered him—the Boy Scouts of America, the Northern Star Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Mary, Mother of the Church, and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis (the archdiocese was later dismissed as a defendant. River Hills United Methodist Church, which hosted Troop 650, was added to the suits as well.

Counsel for the former scouts has argued that the institutions involved had reason to suspect Stibal, but ignored warnings signs.

Yesterday, Jared D. Shepherd, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune that a settlement was pending, though he would not disclose the terms of the settlement.

The second lawsuit is still active. It is scheduled to go to trial in Ramsey County District Court in September. In January, Ramsey County District Judge Elena Ostby ordered the Boy Scouts to relinquish the so-called  confidential records kept by the organization which detail allegations of abuse among its volunteers and leaders.