Boy Scout Volunteer Accused of Sexual Relationship with Teen

FORT WORTH — Police are investigating a complaint filed by the parents of a 16-year-old Boy Scout that a 33-year-old woman who volunteers with the organization had a sexual relationship with the boy, a police spokesman said Thursday.

Courtney Lynn Sheward of Fort Worth was arrested on an outstanding warrant about 11 a.m. Wednesday near her home in north Fort Worth, according to a police report. She remained in the Mansfield Jail on Thursday night with bail set at $25,000, a jail spokeswoman said.

The relationship was not forced, but having sex with a child under 17 is a felony, said Sgt. Chad Mahaffey, a police spokesman.

Sheward is the mother of a Scout and volunteers with a troop, he said.

The boy’s parents told police that they suspected their son was involved in a sexual relationship with an adult and filed a report Oct. 14, police records show.

Sheward, a Scout troop committee member, had her Scout membership revoked Monday, Dan Clifton, Longhorn Council CEO, said Thursday.

Scout troop committee members help with record-keeping, fundraising and other nonprogram aspects of scouting, Clifton said. Scoutmasters and assistant scoutmasters who work in the program should never work with youths one-on-one, Clifton said.

"We are deeply saddened for the families that are involved," Clifton said. "It’s really a challenge for them."

The police report indicated that a second boy might have been involved, but Mahaffey declined to confirm that.

Investigators are still conducting interviews, and anyone with information on this case, or any similar case, is asked to call the Fort Worth police crimes against children unit at 817-332-5036.