A millionaire cable company CEO is accused of molesting at least 18 teenagers while he was leading a local Boy Scouts of America troop, a police report says.
The Guardian obtained the police report from Chillicothe Police in southern Ohio, which is about 45 miles south of the state’s capital, Columbus. In the report, at least 18 now-adult men are named as having been allegedly sexually molested while they were Boy Scouts. The men claim that William “Bill” McKell, the now-former CEO of a one-time cable television giant, abused them for years as he led a troop for decades.

McKell, 60, was fired from his job Thursday as the top official at Horizon Telecoms, a small cable television and fiber optic provider in Ohio. Horizon was a pioneer in the television cable business that was started nearly 125 years ago by McKell’s family as a telephone company. The company’s fiber optic footprint continues to grow while their cable television business has dwindled over the years as more dominant companies emerge. In 2018, McKell and his family sold the company for $220 million to a Canadian firm, who retained McKell as CEO until his termination this week.
The termination as CEO
While the company did not give a reason for McKell’s firing, the company’s Board of Directors released a statement as allegations of molestation involving McKell swirl around the small Appalachian community.
“The Horizon Board of Directors has terminated the employment of Chief Executive Officer Bill McKell,” said Board President Ted Mocarski. “While we cannot comment on the circumstances surrounding the termination of Mr. McKell’s employment, we assure you that Horizon takes seriously its commitment to address all matters that come to its attention in a swift and appropriate manner.”
The termination comes as locals discuss a police report recently made public on social media that details allegations of child molestation by McKell. The report names at least 18 boys the millionaire is accused of abusing while he was a youth leader.
Leader of Troop 5005
The Boy Scouts of America would not immediately confirm the exact years McKell was a leader within their organization. However, McKell’s personal website says he was a scout leader for “nearly 20 years.” The police report outlines McKell being involved in the scouts during the 80’s and 90’s as the leader of at least one troop and two camps, including “Boy Scout Troop 5” (officially known as Troop 5005) in Ross County, Ohio, “Boy Scouts of America National High Adventure Sea Base” in Islamorada, Florida, and “Chief Logan Reservation” in Ray, Ohio.
The police investigation has been ongoing for more than two years after a local police officer came forward reporting that her brother was the victim of child molestation as a scout, and that it was at the hands of the millionaire-McKell.
An investigation was ordered opened in 2018 by then-Police Chief Keith Washburn, who assigned a detective to look into the matter.
During an interview with the officer’s brother, the former scout provided names of other scout members who he said confided in him that they, too, were victims of molestation by McKell.
The assigned-detective conducted numerous interviews with nearly a dozen people, each of them providing more names than the last of potential victims of McKell.
The allegations of abuse
In the interviews, the men described their alleged abuse occurring mostly on camping trips and scout missions, with each of them having similarities on how the abuse reportedly occurred.
In most of the instances, the men describe sleeping on the floor next to McKell in large rooms filled with other scouts and leaders; and waking up to find McKell’s hand inside their sleeping bag fondling their private areas while he masturbated himself. One man said that while he was in the eighth grade, he woke up to find his own hand had been placed into McKell’s sleeping bag and was touching the millionaire’s genitals while the young-boy was simultaneously being molested by McKell’s hand inside the boy’s clothes.

At least three other boys said the same thing happened to them: they would fall asleep next to McKell and would wake up to being touched.
In one of those instances, one of the boys said McKell simply rolled over and went to sleep after the boy had awoken and caught himself being molested.
Another now-adult man told detectives that in 1982 — while he was 12-years-old — he and McKell drove to a local camp to help move-out a camp counselor who was moving on in his career. While at the camp, the man said McKell wrestled him to a sofa on the back deck of the house. Once pinned, the scout said McKell stuck his adult-hand down the front of boy’s pants, while the leader-McKell simultaneously personally pleasured himself. The abuse went on for about 15 minutes, the man said, before McKell removed his hand from the front area of the boy’s clothes and started fondling the boy’s backside. Once that happened, the boy said he was no longer pinned and was able to escape to a nearby closet, where he locked himself inside away from McKell.
A short time later, the scout said McKell came to the door, begged the boy to come out, and told him that he “was just playing around.” Eventually, the boy decided to emerge and the two drove back to Chillicothe, the allegation says. While on the ride back home, McKell reportedly asked the boy to not tell his parents.
Many of the scouts confirmed each other’s accounts, saying they had confided in some of their friends when the abuse had occurred. As for why none of them went to an adult when it occurred and have waited until now to talk to police, most of the men said they were embarrassed, afraid of McKell’s wealth and possible retribution, along with feelings that somehow, perhaps they deserved the abuse or “asked for it.”
On one occasion, a different scout was at a camp in Florida in the 1980’s when he said he was molested by McKell. When the boy returned back home to Ohio he told his parents he had been abused. The parents met with a local pastor and chose not to move forward with a criminal complaint, the police report says.
According to the then-boy and his parents — who were each interviewed this year by a detective — the family chose not to pursue the matter because the incident happened in another state and the family could not travel for court proceedings if the abuse was reported. The parents, however, admitted to the detective this year that their son did, indeed come to them with a claim of sexual abuse by McKell in 1985.
Another man said that while he was a scout, McKell abused him “at least three times, but less than ten.”
In the 80’s, McKell was a teacher for a couple of years at a local public school. Then-teachers reportedly expressed concerns to administration that McKell was showing extreme affection to young male students, the police report outlines. Shortly after the concerns were voiced, McKell resigned from his teaching position and took a job at his family’s cable company.
The current status
In 2012, the Boy Scouts of America published a database of abusers and allegations of abuse from within their organization as part of a lawsuit settlement. In the list of thousands of names, the troop that McKell was head of — Troop 5005, known locally as Troop 5 — shows one report of abuse in 1995, however, the alleged abuser’s name is not listed. Simply, the abuser is given an identifier — 4137. Boy Scouts of America did not immediately confirm to the Guardian if the allegation involved McKell or if McKell was involved with the scouts in 1995. One of the boys told police in his interview that it was around 1996 that McKell’s involvement with the scouts abruptly stopped.
While McKell has been fired from his job as CEO of Horizon, the police report has been sent to several prosecutors in multiple jurisdictions for further investigation. However, all of the alleged victims interviewed by police are not able to pursue state charges because the abuse reportedly happened more than 20 years ago, outside of the statute of limitations for charges. That could change if federal prosecutors get involved.
The police report says that it is believed at least two men have received “hush money” from McKell in exchange for their silence.
Recently, a local public school superintendent met with the detective assigned to the case and told him that McKell recently would host a local high school soccer team at the former CEO’s home. The report also accuses McKell of recently frequenting local sporting events while sitting in his vehicle and watching teenage boys practice.
The investigation remains alive, with the local police department encouraging any alleged victims to come forward in hopes that if abuse did, indeed take place, that one of the abuse allegations occurred within the last 20 years.
A call to McKell’s attorney by the Guardian seeking comment for this story was not immediately returned.
UPDATE: 2:45 PM:
The Boy Scouts of America released this statement to the Guardian Friday afternoon:
“First and foremost, we care deeply about all victims of child abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children. We believe victims, we support them, and we encourage them to come forward.
This individual was added to our Volunteer Screening Database over 25 years ago following allegations of inappropriate behavior. This bars him from participation in any Scouting activities, regardless of location.
The Volunteer Screening Database – a tool the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for all youth-serving organizations – serves as one of BSA’s many strong barriers to abuse, which also include: a leadership policy that requires at least two youth-protection trained adults be present with youth at all times and bans one-on-one situations where adults would have any interactions alone with children – either in person, online, or via text; a thorough screening process for adult leaders and staff including criminal background checks, and the prompt mandatory reporting of any allegation or suspicion of abuse.
The BSA offers to fund in-person counseling for abuse survivors and members of their families by a provider of their choice. The BSA also partnered with 1in6, a trusted national resource for male survivors, to meaningfully expand its online services so that more men who suffered abuse while in Scouting can anonymously access vital support from trained advocates when and how they need it. Survivors can access these independent services at www.1in6.org/BSA.
For more information about the BSA’s youth protection policies, our commitment to supporting victims, and our efforts to be part of the broader solution to child abuse, please visit: www.scouting.org/youth-safety.”
If you have been abused by William “Bill” McKell, police encourage you to call them at (740) 773-1911 and ask to speak to a detective; your identity can be kept confidential. If you or someone you know has been victim to sexual assault, help is available by calling a free, confidential national hotline: 800.656.HOPE (4673).