Victim of sexual abuse by firefighters sues township, Scouts

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The teen girl who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a pair of Cascade Township firefighters while working in a mentoring program is suing them, the township and the Boy Scouts of America which initiated the program. 

The suit filed Friday includes details from the incidents two years ago that put the firefighters behind bars and led to the oust of the township’s chief and deputy chief

The girl was 16 when the abuse occurred, and in the suit she is known only as “Jane Doe.” Because she was a teen victim of sexual abuse, 24 Hour News 8 is also not revealing her identity. 

In June of 2017, Clem Bell and Steven Drake were sentenced to eight months in jail after pleading guilty to child pornography charges for pictures they took and sent the girl.

Bell and Drake met the girl as a result of the Boy Scout’s Explorer program, which put the girl who hoped to become a firefighter at the Cascade firehouse where she would get some training on how real firefighters work. 

Instead, she was targeted by Drake and Bell who made lewd sexual advances and entered into a sexual relationship with Drake, a 32-year-old father of two, and Bell, a 51-year-old father of four daughters, one of whom attended school with the victim. 

FULL STORY: WOOD TV


View Full Site