Subject of probe accused of sexual battery
A USA TODAY investigation into child sexual abuse found allegations against Menna dating to 1992
The subject of a USA TODAY investigation into child sexual abuse allegations was arrested last week outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bixby Police Chief Todd Blish confirmed at a news conference Friday.
David Menna was booked at Tulsa County Jail on suspicion of sexual battery, then released on $2,000 bail, according to an arrest report reviewed by USA TODAY. The heavily redacted report suggests the victim is an adult who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, and for whom Menna was providing care. Blish declined questions about details of the alleged abuse, saying the investigation is ongoing.
USA TODAY’s investigation focused on children and found allegations of child sexual abuse against Menna dating to 1992, many involving camping and excursions with the Boy Scouts of America. He was arrested in Oklahoma while leading one such trip in 2007 on two counts of lewd molestation.
The allegations emerged as Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020, prompting tens of thousands of abuse survivors to come forward to file claims in the case, many telling their stories for the first time.
What’s the backstory?
In December 2018, reports that the Boy Scouts was preparing to file for bankruptcy spurred a group of attorneys to recruit clients who say they were abused as Scouts. The group, Abused in Scouting, ran TV ads encouraging survivors to come forward, noting lawsuits against Scouts would be halted in bankruptcy proceedings, and a deadline for claims to be filed in bankruptcy court would further restrict future legal action against the youth organization.
Within months, the group had signed hundreds of clients with accounts of abuse, allegations from across eight decades that reach nearly every state.
The law firm’s client list, obtained by USA TODAY, alleges molestation from fondling to sodomy. Some of the men accused by former Scouts ended up in court or were punished administratively for similar crimes, sometimes many years after their alleged assaults. About two dozen of those accused had been kicked out of scouting for abuse.
The majority of the accused, however, had no criminal record and were not mentioned in the Scouts’ internal files that tracked such allegations.
One of those was David Menna.
What were the allegations?
David Menna held himself out to be a doctor, military man and wilderness expert, according to interviews with dozens of people who knew him. He led camping and repelling trips with various Scout troops and reportedly ran his own outfitting company.
Jacob, a client of Abused in Scouting, who asked not to be identified by his full name, said Menna molested him in 1992 in Georgia.
Jacob said the abuse occurred on a camping trip, telling USA TODAY that Menna said he needed to apply baby powder on Jacob to prevent chafing. Jacob didn’t tell anyone until he saw the TV ads from Abused in Scouting.
Grant Lackey met Menna through church in the suburbs of Atlanta about a year later. Menna was helping out with the Scout troop affiliated with the church, leading rappelling exercises and wildlife expeditions. Lackey participated in many trips over several years.
Lackey told USA TODAY that Menna used baby powder on him, too. And the abuse progressed to masturbation and lasted for years. In 1995, Lackey’s dad filed a report with police and the state’s Division of Family and Child Services.
USA TODAY found three other agencies in Georgia also recorded reports of child molestation against Menna in the 1990s: a second police department, a sheriff ’s office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. The agencies largely denied requests to review the reports citing victim’s privacy laws, making it impossible to determine whether all of the allegations were related to Lackey or if they included other potential victims.
The lack of public access to those reports has helped shield Menna’s history not only from the media, but from parents and youth organizations.
USA TODAY uncovered pieces of the reports, including limited records from a Georgia Bureau of Investigations file. The bureau’s file shows that Lackey’s case ultimately was referred to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office. As of late June 1995, according to the file, Menna was not licensed to practice medicine in the state of Georgia. His business, Wilderness Adventures, was not registered with the secretary of state’s office.
In January 1997, investigators tried to interview Menna. Through his attorney, he declined to answer questions without a warrant. Six months later, the case was closed, with no charges filed against him. Both the bureau and Hall County Sheriff’s Department declined USA TODAY’s request to explain why.
Prior arrest in Oklahoma
Noah Cleveland was a new member of the Young Marines in Tulsa in 2007 when he attended his first camping trip. Menna led the outing to Osage Hills State Park, and invited members from a local Boy Scout troop.
Cleveland told USA TODAY that a little before midnight on the first night, Menna woke him up, saying he needed to inspect Cleveland for ticks.
Cleveland later recounted the event to a forensic interviewer, saying Menna felt his genitals and put bug repellent on his penis, testicles and buttocks. In her expert opinion, Cleveland’s experience was consistent with child abuse.
Another Young Marine who attended the trip, Sam McCormick, told USA TODAY that he woke up one night with a stomachache. Menna was the person to ask for medical help, as he purported to be a doctor.
McCormick said he was looking for ibuprofen, but Menna clipped his fingernails and toenails, then stripped him down for a tick check.
The Clevelands filed a report with the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department.
Weeks later, Menna was to lead another trip with Scouts. Osage County Sheriff’s Officers arrested him on the first night of the trip on two counts of lewd molestation. He was held for two days before posting $50,000 bail.
He was charged with two counts of lewd molestation and two counts of practicing medicine without a license. But the case against him crumbled.
Menna was allowed to plead no contest to one count of practicing medicine without a license; the other charges were dismissed. He received a two-year deferred sentence.
Through his attorney, Menna was able to get much of the case sealed or expunged. He maintained throughout that he was not guilty of molestation.
USA TODAY requested hearing transcripts, only to be told a month later that a judge had ordered them sealed during a hearing with Menna’s attorney following that request. USA TODAY was never notified of the hearing.
USA TODAY later went to court and was granted access before the last of the records were set to be expunged.
The lack of public access to child molestation reports has helped shield Menna’s history from parents and youth organizations.
What’s happening now?
On Friday, Bixby Police Chief Todd Blish said the department had received a report of sexual assault Sept. 14.
Blish said the alleged crime occurred in a home in Bixby, where Menna was providing care for the victim.
According to an arrest and booking report reviewed by USA TODAY, an individual in the home has severe Parkinson’s disease. The report says Menna repeatedly asked to shave the victim’s genital area, saying it would make the area easier to clean. He was told “no.”
The individual who filed the report said she went out of town Sept. 9. During that time, Menna was with the victim and moved a camera that the individual used to check on the victim. She later told police that Menna admitted shaving the victim’s genitals.
A nurse aide told police that when he arrived Sept. 12, he found the victim dressed only in pull-up briefs.
Blish urged anyone with information to call 918-366-8294.