Former Scout Leader Pleads Guilty to More Than 900 Counts of Sexual Abuse

Thomas Fox, 41, of the small Pennsylvania community of Presidents Township, is looking at nine to eighteen years in prison for kiddie touching. The former Scout leader of Cub Scout Pack 3 in Oil City pled guilty to all 926 counts of indecent assault and possession of child pornography.

He readily admits to paying the boys, some as young as nine years old, $3 each in exchange for the permission to give them full-body rubdowns. Always the gracious host, he'd also assist them with shower details while documenting their time together in various stages of undress.

Possible good news- he claims to have not shared is bounty of photos with the world wide web.

Really good news- because of a plea agreement, the boys will not be required to testify in court.

On Monday, Fox entered a last minute guilty please before President Judge H. William White on three charges of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age and hundreds of charges of sexual abuse of children. He was dressed in traditional prison-scrub orange.

In addition to prison, Fox will also be required to undergo assessment by the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board to determine if he should be registered a sexually violent predator, the most serious classification of sex offender under Megan's Law.

Here's how he got caught-

An 11-year-old had bravely come forward so as to prevent his 9-year-old brother from being subjected to Fox's abuse. He'd reported the abuse to his mother after the younger brother has asked to visit Fox's home.

After a total of four boys came forward and shared their stories with police, Fox was arrested. They told of having paid chores, including the rubdown.

During a search of his parents home (yes, Mr. Fox still lived with his parents), a computer, which would later be discovered to host hundreds of illegal images of children, was also seized.

Sentencing is set for July with an extended stay in a federal infirmary set for early August.

Sources:

Staff Writer, "Western Pa. Scout Leader Guilty Photographing, Abusing Boys" NBC10
URL: http://www.nbc10.com/news/11602719/detail.html