Update on troop (iykyk)

Hi! I made a post last month concerning my daughter’s troop leader being married to a Registered sex offender.

I found out because someone had posted on our local Facebook community group a registered sex offender list and he was on there.

After I brought it up to other troop parents, it became apparent some knew, and it didn’t bother them ( some were her family)

because they trusted our troop leader (she had been the troop leader for a few years before they met at work- a fast food restaurant- )

This was unsettling to me because of how grooming works, and I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that a Girl Scout troop leader could be allowed to have her husband around Girl Scouts and even involving them in purposing to her, inviting families to their wedding. Etc. I don’t think majority parents knew when he first started coming around, and then when they found out they felt uncomfortable saying something because “he was a nice guy” I don’t live in that same world as those people.

By the way I just want to say when I looked his charges up, they were against a 15 year old in 2013 who he was in a relationship with and made a website for her and asking him to marry her, etc.

So when I found all this information out- had screenshots I contacted parents with- The troop was torn- half wanted to believe the best intentions of the troop leader,’maybe not wanting to accept reality of the situation and just wanting to see the best of it. Some parents immediately left the troop with me.

The troop leader sent group chats out to parents spinning her own narrative on the situation, claiming the girls have always been safe and never in harm.

Well I started my own troop, while hers was under investigation, and now she is terminated from leadership and all things Girl Scouts.

I have took on 16 girls so far- multi level from daisies to juniors. Despite the negative circumstances and what felt like a root canal of an experience- I am excited to lead these girls.

I want to give them the most positive and safe Girl Scout experience! I will admit I am in over my head in cookie season. It’s so much information and getting asked questions that I don’t know the answer too but need too. It’s just a lot.

And I have a lot of people who don’t like me now because of the report and investigation and now she’s terminated - I know there are girls who don’t get to do Girl Scouts now. There are some parents who want to boycott scouts. I live in a small town. Dealing with all this feels like a Girl Scout civil war lol

But I will always stand up for children, what’s right and be the one that says something even if it makes other people uncomfortable. I’m scared to even share this update and story and may delete it but have received a lot of questions for updates and I decided to delete the old post and start anew so everyone knows that Girl Scouts took care of it. Unfortunately it had happened over Christmas break and the time it took for council to get back to me felt like it wasn’t being looked at.

Thank you to everyone for the advice on who to contact, thank you for being supportive, because it was me against 20 families for awhile. It felt very isolating.

But always stand up for the girls. I will always fight to protect children. I don’t play around with it.

But I don’t want to further cause distress I just wanted to provide this update and a little bit of context to the situation.

And here’s to my new journey, wonderful journey, of Girl Scout leader.