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Respected troop leader admits molesting Eagle Scout

NEW YORK (Court TV) -- A former Scoutmaster praised for his selfless devotion to Manhattan boys admitted Tuesday sexually abusing an Eagle Scout in his troop.

Jerrold Schwartz, 42, pleaded guilty to four counts of third-degree sodomy for molesting the teenager in 1996. Judge Charles Solomon told Schwartz he would face up to eight years in prison when he is sentenced in August. Schwartz was originally charged with 36 counts of sodomy over a two-year period.

The victim, now a 19-year-old college student, claims he was raped by Schwartz in his office and apartment after weekly meetings for Troop 666, a group based in a church and synagogue on the Upper East Side. The abuse continued on camping trips to Colorado, New Mexico and the Florida Keys, and even occurred on the eve of Schwartz's wedding in Disneyworld, the victim alleged.

The victim, the son of a doctor and lawyer who were deeply involved with the troop, is suing Schwartz, the Boy Scouts, the church and the synagogue for $150 million. According to his mother, the teenager's normal adolescence was destroyed by the abuse.

In a letter to the judge, she said he engaged in self-mutilation, cocaine and marijuana abuse, and promiscuity and would spend hours in the bathtub trying to cleanse himself. He first told his parents about the molestation after he was kicked out of college and sent to a rehab center.

The teenager's lawyer, Michael Dowd, said Schwartz's plea ensures he will be found liable in the civil suit. Dowd also represents more than 40 other clients who say they were sexually abused as children.

The heart of the prosecution's case was secretly recorded audio tapes in which the victim confronted Schwartz about the abuse.

"I took advantage of you sexually," Schwartz admitted in the April 2001 meeting. "I'm eternally, eternally sorry."

He blamed the abuse on "a sickness" and said, "I did things that were not becoming of an adult that you looked up to, not becoming of an adult period."

Before the plea, Schwartz's lawyer, Joseph Bondy -- who became an Eagle Scout in Troop 666 under Schwartz's leadership -- said his client made the statements in fear of the victim's volatility, but acknowledged the "horrible, horrible tape" would be compelling to jurors.

Schwartz was involved with Troop 666 since his own youth, becoming an Eagle Scout, then an assistant scoutmaster and finally the leader.

In letters sent to Judge Solomon pleading for leniency, troop parents and scouts described Schwartz as caring and charismatic and said they could not believe the allegations.

"I count him among the most dedicated and compassionate people I have had the honor to know and befriend," one Eagle Scout, now a college junior, wrote.

Dowd, the victim's lawyer, said his client was living out of state and had not heard about the plea because he was busy taking his final exams.

"He'll be gratified to know he's not going to hurt any other kids," Dowd said.