Scout leader charged with child sex abuse

Steven Jeremy Freeman, 36, of Springfield, faces five counts of first-degree sodomy and one count of first-degree sex abuse.

He met some of the boys - ages 7 to 10 - through his shop, others through Scouting and some through both, Springfield police Capt. Rich Harrison said.

Freeman was arrested on Friday after the parent of a 7-year-old boy contacted police earlier in the day to say that the boy had described being abused.

Officers then searched Freeman's shop, Trading Cards Unlimited at 2108 Main St., and seized child pornography and evidence of child sexual abuse, Harrison said. He declined to elaborate.

Investigators are sorting through computer files and interviewing the boys and others, Harrison said.

Freeman has lived in Springfield for two years and been involved in Scouting for the same period, officials said.

He was the leader of a Springfield Cub Scout den for younger boys and an assistant leader for a Boy Scout troop for older boys and teens, said Aaron Escobar, finance director for the Oregon Trail Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He was suspended immediately from his Scouting duties, Escobar said.

Freeman had contact with 50 to 60 boys ages 6 to 18 in both Scouting groups, Harrison said. Police have visited all the families with children in the groups and will keep them posted on the investigation, he said.

The initial investigation doesn't indicate that any boys were abused at official Scouting events, Escobar said. The Oregon Trail Council had received no complaints about Freeman before, he said.

The council will hold a meeting sometime next week so parents can ask questions and bring up concerns, Escobar said. "Anytime something like this happens, it forces parents and leaders to take a closer look," he said.

Business owners near Freeman's shop said his strip-mall store was hardly ever open - and didn't attract many customers when it was. He lived in a back room at the shop.

Some boys - who appeared to be between ages 6 to 10 - hung around so much, some neighbors assumed they were Freeman's children. They often appeared to be left in charge of the store.

Sylvia Myer, who owns a nearby nail salon, said she wondered why the boys weren't in school and whether Freeman was home-schooling them. But she said she saw them in Scouting uniforms and thought that all must be fine if Freeman was a Scout leader.

Other business owners said Freeman did occasional yard work in addition to owning the shop.

Authorities said Freeman lived in Eugene before moving to Springfield. He also lived elsewhere in Oregon and in California.

An initial background check of Oregon and FBI records showed no criminal history, but Springfield police are still checking, Harrison said.

Scouting leaders undergo a criminal background check before being allowed to work with children, and potential leaders must have the support of other local leaders and parents, Escobar said.

Scouting has a guideline of "two-deep" leadership, he said, meaning that at least two adults supervise groups of boys, so that no adult is ever alone with a child.

But not all Scouting groups are able to meet that standard, and it wasn't known Monday whether the Cub Scouts that Freeman supervised had a secondary leader.

Freeman, who is single, has a 14-year-old son that he adopted in California, Harrison said. The son was placed in state custody after his father's arrest, he said.

Freeman's security is set at $425,000. To be released from the Lane County Jail, he must post $42,500.

5 more boys accuse man in abuse case

By SUSAN PALMER
The Register-Guard

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SPRINGFIELD - Five more boys have told police that they were abused by a Springfield business owner and Scout leader, investigators said Tuesday.

That brings to 10 the number of boys who say Steven Jeremy Freeman, 36, molested them.

The Lane County district attorney's office has filed 16 charges against Freeman, who was arrested and jailed Friday. His security was raised from $425,000 to $2.825 million.

He now faces six counts of first-degree sodomy, six counts of first-degree sexual abuse, three counts of encouraging child sex abuse and one count of unlawful penetration with a foreign object, a Lane County Jail custody referee said Tuesday night. The alleged crimes occurred on Jan. 31, 1997, Jan. 1, 2001, and Feb. 13, 2002, according to court records.




	Steven Jeremy Freeman

Police found child pornography and other evidence, including a videotape of Freeman having sex with children, when they searched his sports trading card shop, Detective Sgt. Matt Brandt said.

Police began an investigation after the mother of one of the boys reported that her 7-year-old son told her that Freeman had abused him, police said. Investigators identified four more boys in the course of their initial inquiry.

Police discovered five more cases of alleged abuse after families came forward.

A grand jury will meet this week to consider indicting Freeman, District Attorney Doug Harcleroad said.

Freeman owns Trading Cards Unlimited, a sports card trading shop, and was a Cub Scout den leader and a Boy Scout troop assistant leader. As a Scout leader, he worked with 50 to 60 children. He was suspended from Scouting on Friday, when the organization learned of the investigation.

Police were still sorting out how each of the boys encountered Freeman, but say some had met him through Scouting, some through his store and some through both.

Volunteers with the Child Advocacy Center in the district attorney's office are interviewing the boys and their families as part of the investigation.

The interviews are taped so children don't have to undergo repeated interviews, center director Ray Broderick said. Police detectives in a separate room watch the interviews as they're conducted.

Some children will testify before the grand jury, Harcleroad said.

Scouting officials have found a new leader for the Cub Scout den previously supervised by Freeman, said Aaron Escobar, finance director for the regional office of the Boy Scouts of America.

The organization plans a meeting for concerned parents, but hasn't set a date yet, he said.

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