DES MOINES — An attorney says a sex abuse lawsuit against the Scouts and a former scoutmaster has been partially dismissed. The lawsuit was filed in January 2013 by an unnamed man who says he was sexually abused in 1977 or 1978 when he belonged to a West Des Moines troop. The lawsuit named former scoutmaster Kenneth Newell, who now lives in Cedar Rapids.
Guy Cook, who represented the Boy Scouts, said Wednesday that the dismissal filed by the plaintiff states that the scouting organization is not liable for the plaintiff’s costs. Cook says the organization denies any liability or wrongdoing. He also says the lawsuit continues against Newell.
Newell has not been criminally charged. Court records don’t list the name of his attorney.