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Shawn Cory Gooden, 47, was arrested on September 5 after an extensive investigation revealed he sexually assaulted a relative, who was between nine and 13 years old, multiple times from January 1997 to December 2000, according to the Prince William County Police Department.
Within the investigation, police also discovered Gooden sexually assaulted another young relative, who was between the ages of eight and 12 years old, during the same timeframe, authorities said.
Officers from the North Londonderry Township Police Department located Gooden in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, and he was charged with two counts of indecent liberties, two counts of forcible sodomy, and five counts of aggravated sexual battery, law enforcement reported.
Gooden spent time as a Boy Scouts volunteer in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania but was not signed up as a volunteer at the time of the alleged assaults, ABC27 reports citing Ronald Gardner, Scout Executive and CEO of the Boy Scouts New Birth of Freedom Council.
"The allegations against Shawn Gooden are disturbing and opposed to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) stands. He is a former volunteer Council board member and has not been active since 2019. His term formally ended in May of this year. We have no record of him being registered at the time of the allegations. He has been placed in our Volunteer Screening Database and will no longer be permitted to register as a volunteer in the Boy Scouts of America or participate in any capacity," Gardner clarified to Fox43.
Gooden had a pending court date and was awaiting extradition back to Virginia, officials said.
Anyone with information regarding the incidents listed in this report is asked to contact the Prince William County Police Department tipline at 703-792-7000.
The BSA also offers a 24/7 Scouts First Helpline 1-844-SCOUTS1 and email contact address scouts1st@scouting.org for help reporting suspected abuse or inappropriate behavior.
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