"Details emerge on abusive former Scout leader
Newly unsealed records show an assistant scoutmaster with Troop 647 of Hallowell used his position to befriend and abuse a 12-year-old boy in 1977. The Kennebec Journal said former Augusta resident Alfred J. Conrad, now living in Lawrence, Mass., was among eight Scout leaders in Maine identified in files detailing sexual abuse allegations that were released in October after news organizations won a court case against the Boy Scouts of America. The newspaper requested the previously confidential pre-sentence investigation, which indicated Conrad’s victim began abusing alcohol and attempted suicide. Conrad said his actions haunt him nearly 30 years after he was sentenced for gross sexual misconduct and unlawful sexual contact. The 67-year-old says he regrets what happened and has ‘‘kept away from youths’’ since then."
