More than 170 former Boy Scouts filed lawsuits against six local councils that oversee troops across Maryland, accusing the councils of failing to protect generations of children from alleged sexual abusers.

In seven lawsuits filed last week, the former Scouts said the alleged abusers — who were either a Scout leader, a youth Scout leader or Boy Scout camp personnel — used their “power, authority and trust” to coerce them to engage in sexual acts.

Many of the Scouts were between 7 and 10 years old when the alleged abuse occurred, according to the complaints, with accusations dating back to the 1950s. The plaintiffs in the suits, who were identified by initials, now range in age from their 30s to 80s.

The lawsuits are part of a rush of filings expected before changes to the state’s Child Victims Act will limit how much survivors can win in court. The act, which went into effect in 2023, eliminated time limits for people sexually abused as children to sue their abusers. Earlier this year, Maryland lawmakers amended the act after it became clear that the state could face billions in liability.

Law firm Slater Slater Schulman, which is representing the plaintiffs in the suits against the Scouting councils, is in the process of filing “thousands of cases” between now and June 1, said Benjamin L. Davis, III, the managing attorney of the firm’s Baltimore office.

“The shortsighted and misguided amendments to the Child Victims Act are literally taking money out of the pockets of people who were raped as kids by scout leaders, clergy, and state employees,” he said in a statement. “It’s not right.”

Most of the former Scouts sued in Baltimore County, naming the Baltimore Area Council, which oversees Scouting programs in Baltimore City as well as Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Anne Arundel counties.

Local councils are responsible for screening volunteers and paid employees, as well as training, supervising and disciplining them.

The culture and influence of the Baltimore Area Council pressured the former Scouts not to report the alleged abusers, according to the lawsuit. The local council also didn’t inform Scouts and families when there were “credible allegations” against the alleged abusers, according to the lawsuit.

Instead, the lawsuit says, the local council “remained silent.”

The Baltimore Area Council didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The other councils named in the suits are the National Capital Area Council, which oversees programs in parts of Maryland, Washington, Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Del-Mar-Va Council, which oversees parts of the Eastern Shore; Laurel Highlands Council, which oversees Allegany and Garrett counties and parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia; and Chester County Council, which oversees Cecil County and parts of Pennsylvania.

The Laurel Highlands Council directed questions to the national organization, Scouting America. The other local councils did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The former Scouts also allege that the organizations failed to warn about the “inherent” risks of child abuse in the Scouting program and failed to implement policies and changes to protect Scouts.

The suits do not name Scouting America, the national organization that was formerly called the Boy Scouts of America. The organization filed for bankruptcy in 2020 amid thousands of sexual abuse claims, and later reached a $2.4 billion settlement plan.

The national organization has documented “ineligible volunteers,” excluded because they had been accused of sexually abusing children, for decades. The confidential files, which were made public in 2012, list thousands of volunteers and Scout leaders.

More than 82,000 people filed abuse claims against the organization during the bankruptcy case, according to the Associated Press.

The national organization acknowledged in 2020 that predators used Scouting America to “gain access” to children, and that the organization, including local councils, did not “effectively act” on the allegations, according to the complaints.