HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Seventeen men and two women are suing the Boy Scouts of America and local chapters in Connecticut, saying a now-dead scoutmaster sexually abused them when they were children in the 1960s and 1970s.

The suit alleges that some of the accusers were assaulted hundreds of times.

The lawsuit filed in state court in Stamford last month claims Boy Scout leaders knew or should have known that Ridgefield Scoutmaster Donald Dennis was a danger to the scouts in his troops and did nothing to protect them. Dennis died two years ago.

Named in the lawsuit are the national Boy Scouts organization, the Fairfield County Council and the Connecticut Yankee Council.

A lawyer for the Boy Scouts of America declined to comment, and a spokesman didn't immediately return a message Tuesday.