EXCLUSIVE: New documents reveal aftermath in Boy Scouts sex abuse case

February 17, 2016 Gainesville, GA: Robb Lawson has come forward saying he was sexually assaulted by a Boy Scout leader at Gainesville’s Troop 26 while on a camping trip in the 1980’s. BRANT SANDERLIN/BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM

February 17, 2016 Gainesville, GA: Robb Lawson has come forward saying he was sexually assaulted by a Boy Scout leader at Gainesville’s Troop 26 while on a camping trip in the 1980’s. BRANT SANDERLIN/BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM

Newly released internal Boy Scouts documents provide a window into the handling of a shocking sex abuse scandal still reverberating decades later.

Last year, an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution uncovered the secret life of Fleming Weaver, a Gainesville human resources executive and decorated scoutmaster. In 1995, he confessed to Hall County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Judy Mecum that he had sexually abused several Boy Scouts — “five or six at least” — though he insisted he stopped in 1981.

It was the second time he had made such a confession. Weaver had been removed as scoutmaster of Troop 26, sponsored by Gainesville’s First Baptist Church, in 1982 after the father of one of his victims reported the abuse to the church’s pastor. After consulting with a church member active in the Boy Scouts, they agreed not to go to police.

But Weaver remained active in the church and, new documents obtained by The AJC reveal, active with the scouts. The abuse of boys continued as well, according to one former scout who alleges Weaver raped him in 1985. He has sued Weaver, the Boy Scouts and First Baptist.

Visit myajc.com for the full story about what those documents reveal and how they are impacting a small town and some of its most venerable institutions.