By Caleb Hutton
In advance of this article about a 18-year-old Girl Scout co-leader who was charged with molesting a girl, the Girl Scouts of Western Washington released the following prepared statement.
The safety of the girls we serve is our paramount concern. Girl Scouts of Western Washington is a volunteer-based organization and has procedures and policies in place to do everything we can to safeguard the well-being of our girls. These processes were followed in this situation.
Our overarching concern is for the girl involved. Girl Scouts of Western Washington is committed to cooperating fully with the proper authorities. We do understand that Andre Acosta-Ruiz has been charged. We do not comment on active investigations, and cannot provide further details at this time.
After reading through the charges, I also had two big questions:
- If it’s typical for teenage boys to serve as co-leaders at Girl Scouts camps.
- Where a “co-leader” lands in the hierarchy of Girl Scouts leadership.
Here’s the response from Kate Dabe, vice president of marketing and communications for the regional Girl Scouts.
Girl Scouts welcomes both women and men into volunteer positions. The encamporee leadership team structure varies depending on a number of factors, but includes a trained encamporee director and others in required positions such as first aid, assistant leadership positions, and so forth. Andre Acosta-Ruiz was not on the encamporee leadership team.
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