Posted on 12/29/2005 10:37:03 AM PST by SmithL
SAN JOSE - A longtime scoutmaster pleaded no contest to charges he molested three Boy Scouts while alone with them on camping trips.
Gregory Allen Wagner, 43, of Los Altos, appeared in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Wednesday and pleaded to nine felony charges of sex offenses against children. He faces 27 years in prison at his sentencing in March, said prosecutor Sam Liccardo.
Wagner was arrested in August after serving as scoutmaster for two decades with Troop 31 in the scouts' Pacific Skyline Council.
Prosecutors said the abuse started in the late 1980s and lasted several years, but it was not uncovered until this summer when one alleged victim, former scout David Grewal, came forward and alerted authorities.
Grewal, now a 29-year-old graduate student at Harvard University, claimed he was 12 when Wagner began abusing him, but he kept it secret until his fiancee convinced him that other scouts could be in danger.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Saying Los Altos is less liberal than Palo Alto is like saying California is less liberal than Mass.
"Where's the outrage! Why isn't the MSM all over this!"
Uh, the Associated Press (AP) IS the MSM. This story will be picked up by the rest of the media, as usual with AP stories.
Blaming a city for an evil child molestor is like blaming an SUV instead of a drunk driver.
I guess you did not catch the male female difference. Sex with an old scout master: sick. Sex with a hot looking female teacher: rite of passage.
If it is not- it is not.
FOG724, I do not recall when the Youth Protection Program began -- it is possible that the two-deep leadership requirement was not in effect when the first molestations took place. However, I'm a believe that the two-deep leadership requirements of Youth Protection are designed to keep Scout leaders out of a he said/he said situation with one Scout. You always have another adult to back up your story. Somebody who wants to molest Scouts is going to ignore the two-deep requirement anyway.
Two thoughts regarding this:
First, this Scoutmaster was 23 when he became a leader. It's unlikely he had a Scouting-age child (6, for Tiger Cubs). I wonder if he is married or is a single 43-year old male leader. These are the situations that cause many Troop to turn down volunteer leaders who are single males or who do not have a child in the unit. It's unfair to young Eagle Scouts who want to contribute to Scouting in their early 20s, and to older men who want to be involved in Scouting, but who do not have a boy of Scouting age or a boy or girl of Venturing age. The last time I served as a Unit Commissioner, none of the BSA units I served would accept a single male leader out of fear that he was volunteering for the wrong reasons. Perverts like this one have made it impossible for some qualified volunteers to have a hard time finding a BSA unit to serve -- not having children in Scouting, or not being married, are considered red flags and no Troop Committee is willing or able to explore the virtues of these candidates.
Second, homosexual activists will say that this man is not a homosexual; they consider pedophilia to be a separate sexual orientation, not categorized by the genders of the predator and victim. FBI studies on child molestation state that homosexual pedophiles have many, many more victims on average than heterosexual pedophiles. Homosexual activists will continue to claim that male pedophiles molesting boys is not homosexuality -- until NAMBLA succeeds in making "sex before eight or else it's too late" the law of the land, at which time, the homosexual activists will embrace buggery with boys as a natural homosexual act.
Great Post Fog724, You are entirely correct. Someone wasn't doing their job because there is never supposed to be any one on one contact between scoutmasters and scouts.
The devastation a child suffers as a result of this depraved behavior is so difficult to overcome and get through. My heart goes out to those who have suffered.
Oh, and as for this "Queer" scoutmaster being the problem. He was married and had 2 daughters. Three more unfortunate victims to add to the list.
Which is why I put the blame on the other leaders who should have been watching. This guy did not operate in a vacuum. Youth Protection has been employed in our Counsel for at least 11 years. The troop I was involved in did have not only young leader but older men who no longer had boys in the troop but the leadership structure and adhered to Youth Protection rules made it not only a fun troop but a safe one. But then our Committee Chair was Secret Service.
Many times I see articles here about Troops that leave me wondering about the leadership of those troops. One was the article about the boy getting a knife stuck in his head. Just what was that leader doing raking leaves in the dark with an open blade anyway?
You are entitled to your beliefs, but I happen to draw a distinction between sex between two males and sex between a male and a female. I happen to be male and I can remember having some pretty young female teachers in school that I would have loved to have had sex with. I never had any male teachers or male scout leaders I wanted to have sex with.
Sheesh! Well,... and the ACLU wonders why BSA tries to keep them out in the first place.
I wonder how we can get the message to American boys and men that it is noble and good to bust these perverts so they can not molest other boys. We have managed to teach girls that it is not shameful to them that they are molested, but not boys - it is still shameful to them. This shame keeps them in a weak position for abuse.
You are correct, but it appears that some of this occurred before all Scout Leaders were required to take Youth Protection Training on a regular basis. The training also emphasizes that enforcing the Buddy system protects the leader from unwarranted charges from a disgruntled scout. I've always made sure that if I was alone with a scout, it was my own child.
Boy Scouts are also required to take training for their own protection, I think it's called "A Time to Tell."
Alec Baldwin is an insufferable moron for the most part but he has been funny in some SNL sketches.
I'm no longer on my Council's Risk Management Committee, but I think I will eventually find out the true story about the Scout in Utah who had a knife stuck between his eyes. I simply do not believe that a Scoutmaster with an open knife "tossed" it away to catch a falling Scout.
First, you would have to throw a knife at high speed to have it penetrate a skull.
Second, the knife on those Leatherman Micras do not have a sharp point, nor do I think they can be honed to a truly sharp edge. I've tried; the metal is just not a high enough quality steel to sharpen well.
Third, I cannot imagine the odd shape and weight distribution of an open Micra resulting in a rotating object that would stick straight in as it did.
I'm certain there's more to the story. I think the knife was in someone's hand when it entered the skull.
Even if it happened as explained, the Scoutmaster who "tossed" the knife doesn't need to be carrying one.
I'd agree that I shake my head at the actions of some adult leaders. My Council had a Troop that insisted on doing its own rock climbing, before the BSA had the rock climbing merit badge or the "Climb On Safely" program. On one outing, they had an Assistant Scoutmaster critically injured as a result of (depending on who you listend to, and I was on the Risk Management Committee) poorly maintained equipment or incorrect use of climbing knots and equipment. Within two years, they had a Scout fall to his death on a climbing trip. Despite requests from the Council, they insisted on "top roping" their own climbs, without assistance from qualified instructors.
Duuuuuuuuuh! I think straight guys would be molesting girls.
Agreed. Alec Baldwin sucks, but Alec Baldwin episodes rocks.
"Your Schweaty Balls are making my mouth water..."
A tiem to tell and It happened to me a great productions. One for elemetary school age and one for the older boys. It should be noted that anyone who deals with youth can and should use the Scout Youth Protection videos and movies. See your local Scout office for more information.
His fiancee deserves a medal. Good woman.
Even with all safety procautions taken Scouts can still die in accidents. We had a Scout die in our district. He and his buddy went fishing and he fell in. It was sad.
Double duh! LOL
Removing children from potentially harmful or abusive situations is termed just discrimination. It is why males are not girl scout leaders etcetera. Male Homosexuals left alone with young adolescent boys is just plain stupid -something that only the ignorant or liberal morally devoid miscreants willing to sacrifice innocents at the altar of moral relative political correctness condone and promote...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.