A local Boy Scout and Cub Scout troop leader was deactivated after he was accused of sexually assaulting two children, officials said.
Scott Thomas Hartman, 33, was held in Bexar County Jail on two counts of aggravated sexual assault–child. His bond was set at $150,000.
While the allegations were not related to either troop Hartman led since last May, he was removed from the Boy Scouts of America program Tuesday morning, said John Coyle, spokesman for the scout's Alamo Area Council.
The arrest came after investigators spent more than three months looking into a 10-year-old boy's allegations that Hartman was sexually assaulting him.
In November, the boy made an outcry to a Freedom Elementary School counselor and school police that Hartman sexually assaulted him on several occasions, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The counselor told the school principal, who called the Bexar County sheriff's office.
He told Bexar County investigators his mother didn't believe him, and when questioned, the boy's mother said that his “lies were ruining her life,” the affidavit stated.
The boy and his siblings, including a 4-year-old girl, were placed in the care of Child Protective Services. The children were moved into foster care, and it was then that the girl alleged to her foster mother that Hartman had also sexually assaulted her, officials said.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Hartman was a registered scoutmaster, the affidavit stated.
According to the affidavit, “It is not sure if other victims may surface during this investigation.”
Coyle said Hartman was one of six adult leaders in charge of a 13-member Boy Scout Troop 668 and a six-member Cub Scout Troop 668. Both troops are sponsored by the Sandy Oaks Volunteer Fire Department in south Bexar County.
“We'll rely on authorities to conduct the investigation,” Coyle said, “but if there's anything we need to be aware of, we'd like the families to come forward and help us fully understand what's going on.”
He said troop leaders are never supposed to be alone with children, but are told there should be at least two leaders and at least two scouts at all times.
Hartman was arrested without incident around 8 p.m. Monday.
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