Central Florida Boy Scouts leader arrested on sexual battery, molestation charges
By: Senait Gebregiorgis (WESH)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
A district executive for the Central Florida Council Boy Scouts of America in Lake County is accused of inappropriately touching children.
52-year-old John Bruce Larsen was arrested in Volusia County on Friday. He was arrested on two counts of sexual battery on a child less than 12 years of age and two counts of sexual battery on a child older than 12 but younger than 18.
Larsen also faces four counts of lewd molestation for children under 12.
The arrest report led by Orange County Sheriff's Office is heavily redacted so it's unclear if the children are boy scouts
A mother of one of the victims said her son told her Larsen performed sexual acts on him since he was approximately 8-years-old. Her other son told her Larsen had also touched him sexually. She told detectives she had no knowledge about the accusations until her boys spoke out.
The report says the third victim, who is friends with the mother's sons, described encounters with Larsen that made him uncomfortable. He said when he told Larsen to stop, Larsen ignored and continued.
"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," Eric Magendatz, executive and CEO of the Central Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America, said in a statement.
Detectives believe there may be more victims due to Larsen's position with the Boy Scouts of America. Authorities said Larsen would go to schools to recruit children to join the Boy Scouts.
Anyone with information or who may have been a victim is asked to contact Orange County Sheriff's Office Sex Crimes Unit at 407-254-7000, ext. 70641, or ext. 70557.
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LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!
he must've thought they were chub scouts...
I'm waiting for the announcement of an arrest in redding california...
The boys scouts are becoming the Catholic church...
somehow I feel deprived, my scout troop only had an exhibitionist in the leadership...
I never did the scouts. We had to do sports. Played soccer.
oops, I forgot, we had an embezzler in the leadership too. I had to rake leaves, shovel walks, and mow lawns to pay the weekly BSA dues. that money was supposed to go towards new camping equipment for our troop. unfortunately, back in the 60's, we were generating an irresistible small fortune for the unscrupulous that magically disappeared when it reached it's financial goal.
combine that with the scout leader who felt the need to demonstrate attaining manhood on the last camp out and the new leadership requirement that all the scouts had to wear their full uniforms to school on the day of our weekly meeting, I was done with them. besides, I would rather stay home on scout night to watch the monkees on TV anyway. I didn't let my kids join either the BSA or GSA when they became of age, and I'm glad I made that decision that was very unpopular at the time in my house.
There's no morals in the boy scouts anymore. They shouldn't have kicked out the atheists.
Bloody rock spiders as we call them pop up everywhere..
Had a few in the scouting organisation here too..
Where is a person with a gun when you need them...
The lowest form of life on the planet.
First PCS with a base housing assignment was knocked out by an earthquake while we were "enroute"
Ended up at a different base and 2 days after moving in were visited by the base commander who lived across the street.
First order of business; no kids on her front lawn. Ever. Period.
Second OOB, meeting at Bldg 109, E, don't be late Wednesday evening.
When I showed up at the right place at the appointed time and not a second early,
I was welcomed as Mr. Punctuality and had the last seat at a long table of 61 people
under 30 -40 watt bulbs which miraculously brightened near the O4 in charge of the meeting.
Eventually they introduced me as the new Tiger Cub Leader....shocked face.
The following meeting I gained early access and had all of the bulbs changed to 120
with a 150 over the Chairs seat.
No one said a word at first.......for a few weeks , then there was an investigation
and a camera added for security.
cmtsu
Being the Tiger 'Coordinator' was one of the best things that was ever forced upon me.
I had to engage tiny people with virtually a birthday party every week whether there was a birthday or not
along with 18 field trips a year.
Which involved the parents, overwhelmingly all military members
We kept manual records which today would be called spreadsheet's
Every one of those people wanted FITREP recommendations which we were only too eager to share honestly (lol)
I did Tigers, Cubs and Boys for 10 years until my own moved to PA and HS sports took precedent.
No regrets except for the first big overnight campout in SC where the leaders' tents
were ( inadvertently ) assembled over fire ant nests...
Not a hint of misbehavior by any adults ( sexual misconduct )
Always a minimum number of adults available, almost always military or spouses involved
Justr never had a problem
But I can see where an assumption of trust can lead to terrible results.
We have many, many examples other than BSA
A year later I was also a Neighbor Watch Commander, an Ombudsman for our 'circle" and baseball and softball team coach
for most of which I cherish the memories and the personal growth I experienced while learning how to deal with the
many different military branches, departments and just plain people.