Former NY congressman Gary Ackerman denies sex abuse allegations

NEW YORK -- A lawyer for former U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman is denying allegations in a lawsuit accusing him of being a sexual "predator."

The attorney said in a statement on Sunday that the New York Democrat will fight the allegations he abused a teenager at a Boy Scout camp five decades ago.

A suit filed earlier this month in New York City accuses the now 76-year-old Ackerman of abusing the 17-year-old while he was a director at the Ten Mile River Camp in upstate New York. Ackerman was 23 at the time.

It says the Boy Scouts should have been aware that Ackerman was a "known predator" with the potential to harm kids.

An email seeking comment was sent Sunday to the Boy Scouts of America.

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