IDAHO FALLS — The father of an eastern Idaho Boy Scout who was among at least 2 dozen boys molested in the mid-1990s by a camp counselor says even though he's moved away from Idaho, he'll return to the 2007 Legislature in Boise to lobby for new laws he hopes will help protect victims of child sexual abuse.
Paul Steed, whose son, Adam, was just 14 when he was molested by Bradley Stowell in 1997 at Camp Little Lemhi near Swan Valley, says he wants to eliminate the existing one-year statute of limitations on not reporting knowledge of a crime.
He also wants to remove the two-year statute of limitations on filing civil suits.
In the 2006 Legislature, he helped convince lawmakers to back a law that eliminated the statute of limitations for reporting child sexual abuse.
Steed has since moved to St. Louis, in part, he says, because pressure on his family became too intense for him to stay in Pocatello after his son spoke publicly about his molestation — and sued the Grand Teton Council of the Boy Scouts, which ran the summer camp.
The Idaho Supreme Court is still considering the Steed's lawsuit against the council, which contends the organization should be held accountable for the actions of Stowell. He pleaded guilty seven years ago to two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, was jailed for 150 days and put on probation for 15 years.
He was retto prison last year for violating terms urned of his release.