After being charged with the sexual assault of two boys in a Detroit suburb 20 years ago, a former Boy Scouts of America Scoutmaster was sent from one prison to the next Wednesday.
Officials said Mark Chapman, who had spent nine years in New York for unrelated sex crime and was released into the custody of Michigan officials on Wednesday.
Chapman (51), was charged with 10 new sexual offenses after being identified as a predator by a caller to Michigan’s state attorney general’s tip-line for Boy Scouts victims of sex abuse. According to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, Chapman was hit with 10 additional sex charges.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel stated that Mark Chapman was alleged to have abused children over many years. He threatened them with violence if they refused to take part or tried to stop him from continuing his assaults. He is their source of pain, their psychological scars, and their mental anguish.
Nessel stated that Chapman also worked as a janitor in a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Church in Roseville, Michigan. This is where his scout troop often met.
Nessel stated that the alleged abuse continued up to the age of 17 at Chapman and the victim’s home.
According to Nessel’s office, the other victim was an 11 year-old relative. The alleged abuse continued for years and often revolved around special times for Chapman to spend quality time with the boy.
Chapman was released from Rome’s Mohawk Correctional Facility, New York. He had been there for nine years. New York State corrections records indicate that Chapman was.
Chapman’s lawyer is not known. NBC News couldn’t find one.
“The defendant was a sickly twisted sexual deviant who irreparably damaged an innocent young boy through repeatedly sexually abusing them over the course of many decades,” Brian Dennis, then-Ontario County First Assistant District attorney, said about Chapman when he was sentenced in 2013 to 11 years imprisonment and 10 years of supervision.
In a pair of statements, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), stated that Chapman was “a registered leader of units in different capacities between 1999 and 2007.”
One statement stated that “He was never an employee of the BSA.”
Chapman wasn’t part of the organization at the time he was convicted in New York, but his name was added “to the BSA’s Volunteer Screening Database” and he was prohibited from any further involvement with the Boy Scouts of America.
According to another BSA statement, “In connection with BSA’s bankruptcy”, Mark Douglas Chapman was registered in Michigan in 2000. During which time he is alleged that he abused two youth.” “The BSA received information about allegations of abuse in Michigan and reported these new allegations to law enforcement in Jan 2021.”
Nessel’s Office charged Chapman Wednesday with eight counts second-degree criminal sex conduct and two counts first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Last year, the BSA settled a civil lawsuit for $850 Million with over 84,000 victims who claimed they were sexually abused as scouts.
It was the largest settlement of its type in American history. It also severely damaged the image of a 110-year old organization, which had been plagued by abuse claims from leaders and volunteers since the 1960s.
In 2020 , the BSA declared bankruptcy because it was facing mounting legal costs to defend against sexual abuse claims against boys.
While going through the thousands of BSA abuse claims sent from Michigan, investigators from the Michigan State Police located Chapman. He had been living in New York City since 2007.
Nessel stated that Chapman is the first Boy Scout leader to face charges as a result.
Nessel stated that the Michigan State Police has reviewed at least 550 claims and determined that at most 60 warrant “further investigations.”
Nessel stated, “It is imperative that sexual predators are held accountable, and one my top priorities remains to secure justice for survivors of abuse.” “We are grateful for the partnership with MSP in reaching this point in this important investigation of Boy Scouts of America. These charges are just the beginning.
