Alameda Man Sues North Bay BSA Council for Alleged Abuse

Mark Dietrich, 49, an Alameda resident and Coast Guard veteran, is suing a regional Boy Scouts council for sexual abuse he says he suffered at the hands of a Vacaville scoutmaster decades ago, the Associated Press reported today. 

At a press conference, Dietrich said local and regional scouting officials were aware that the scoutmaster had been reported as having "inappropriate contact" with other boys but let him remain with the troop.

The former scoutmaster, Gary Hatfield, was also named in the lawsuit filed in Solano County Superior Court on Wednesday.

The Associated Press article noted that AP usually does not identify victims of sexual abuse, but reported that Dietrich told them he wanted to reach out to other former Boy Scouts who had been molested.

You may read the complete AP article here in the San Jose Mercury News.