Boy Scout Prostitute 1964-67
Growing Up: In 1958, Ken’s family moved to St. Charles, Missouri, located 23 miles from downtown St. Louis on the western bank of the Missouri River. As Ken grew up, his entrepreneurial experience continued. He sold items door-to-door, such as Mason Shoes, kitchen pots and pans sets, greeting cards, and anything else advertised in the back of the Boy Scout magazine called “Boys Life”. A paper route followed, along with numerous retail and restaurant jobs. In the winter, he would shovel snow from driveways, and in the summer, he would cut people’s grass, pick strawberries at local farms, and scoop up lost golf balls at area courses with ponds using goggles and a butterfly net.
Boy Scout Abuse: From 1964 to 1967, Kenny Tipton and his best friend, Greg Connor, were child prostitutes in an international pedophile ring run out of the Lost Valley Boy Scout camp near St. Louis. For over 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America covered up child sexual abuse until 2019, when they finally took responsibility and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A fund was established that allowed abused Scouts to file claims. Over 82,000 child sex abuse claims were filed.
Kenny and Greg were also abused in New Orleans by a Catholic priest named Father Lawrence Hecker, who was convicted and died in prison. Ken’s book about these experiences, “Lost Valley – Lost Innocence”, will be published in 2026, and a feature film is in development.