Charles Bickerstaff, 56, Ex-Boy Scout Official Charges with 4 Counts of Sexual Assault
Ex-Boy Scout official, Charles Bickerstaff, has been charged with 4 counts of criminal sexual abuse and 4 counts of criminal sexual assault. He is accused of sexually assaulting a 16 year old boy.
DIXON, Ill. (AP) — A former regional Boy Scout official has been charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old Scout at least four times since July.
Charles Bickerstaff, 56, of Dixon, was charged with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and four counts of criminal sexual assault, Lee County Correctional Officer Larry Schremp said Sunday. Bail was set at $2.5 million at a hearing Friday, and Bickerstaff remained in custody Sunday.
Bickerstaff retired last year as district executive for the Blackhawk Area Council, covering northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, of the Boy Scouts of America. He recruited and trained volunteers and helped organize fundraisers.
The boy alerted authorities to the alleged abuse in late April, and investigators discovered journals in Bickerstaff’s house that detailed facts supporting the boy’s account, Lee County Detective Sgt. David Glessner said.