this is "nightline." >> tonight, scouts dishonor? >> he essentially trained me to not say anything. that was our secret. >> a man alleging years of abuse at the hands of his boy scout troop leader. >> he took me to the apartment. i got beer in the fridge for you. i was 11. intoxicated. >> how he says the boy scouts turned a blind eye. in the lawsuit against the organization of. and what he would say to his alleged attacker in prison for another crime. plus deposito and his video costar and how their viral sensation began.

>> i saw the video and everybody's dancing and so happy. and that's what you see in puerto rico. >> and the moment he learned that justin bieber wanted to sing it in spanish. >> but first the "nightline" five.

good evening. thanks for joining us, startling accusations against the boy scouts of america from a man who says he has suffered in silence for decades. he is speak out about what he says was years of abuse by a former troop lau leadeeader and some of the blame on the boy scouts. >> he trained me to not say anything. >> reporter: chris was an 11-year-old new jersey boy scout when his life became consumed with a dark secret. >> you do everything you can to block it out of your mine. >> reporter: he says his boy scout leader sexually abused him hundreds of times over five years. >> i can't tell you how many times. >> reporter: chris, whose last fla

name we are withholding says that the leader became a trusted family friend and things took a sickening turn just weeks after he hit puberty. >> he said there's beer in the fridge. help yourself, whenever you want take whatever you want. he breaks out a stash of porn and one thing led to another. i was 11 and essentially intoxicated and not knowing what to do. >> how did you react? >> i was frozen. i didn't know what to do. i was stiff as a board. >> reporter: chris says he is coming out of the shadows sharing his story two decades later. his adulthood plagued by depression, anxiety and anger. >> i have had this whirlwind of mess throughout my adult life. i'm 35 years old and still feeling this. >> reporter: now chris along with two other former boy scouts

have filed a lawsuit against the boy scouts of america saying they didn't do enough to prevent the sexual abuse. >> look at his interaction with the kids. they chose not to look at it. >> reporter: he says there was no escaping it. >> how much alone time were you spending with steve? >> it became nine hours per week. >> reporter: it would continue on troop outings. >> there is an adult in his underwear. those are his boxers. at what point does someone say there's a problem here? >> reporter: he says his troop leader provided scouts with alcohol. >> on some of the trips, it turned into a booze fest. >> reporter: and an adult friend of corcoran witnessing the abuse. >> he saw you and steve together. >> yes. >> did he confront steve?

>> yes, he said he played it off and the friend disappeared out of the troop and walked away from it. he didn't do what normal people would do and call the police. >> reporter: chris says the abuse ended when he was 16 but by then his former scout master was a close family friend and was a guest in his wedding. >> the guy made it into my wedding. i left him off the list and my wife asked me what about him? and i didn't have an answer to say no. at the time i couldn't justify saying no without telling the truth. >> reporter: his wife tina had no idea about the pain that chris suffered as a child. he opened up to her six years into their marriage. >> jimmy: what did he tell you? >> steve abused me. i haven't seen these pictures in years and hope to never see them again. but i had no earthly idea. now i see pain.

>> you see pain on that face? >> in that face, yeah. >> reporter: chris confided in his attorney at the time. >> i broke down to tears and just told him. >> what did you tell him? >> exactly what happened. >> and that was the first time you reconciled it? >> absolutely. >> how tough is that? >> tough. >> in a statement to abc news the boy scouts of america writing they are outraged there have been times when scouts were abused and they apologize to victims and their families. in the many years since, we have continued to evaluate and strengthen our efforts to protect youth. >> reporter: bruce neagle represents chris. >> what do you hope to achieve in the lawsuit? >> we want to bring to light this is an epidemic. >> reporter: steven corcoran's attorney maintains his client is innocent but corcoran, now 49

was found guilty of possession of child pornography. in june of this year he was sentenced to seven years in prison. >> what wlouould you say to him today? >> why he chose me? i don't know. >> reporter: this is not the first time that the boy scouts of america has been accused of harboring abusers as scout leaders. a portland jury awarded a man $20 million in damages for the sexual abuse he suffered in the '80s by a former assistant scout master. >> if you want to join, please do so but be aware. >> reporter: lawyers successfully argued that at the time the organization knew he had a history of molestation. he served prison time, admitted as early as 1983 he had molested 17 boys. >> if you put the interest of your organization ahead of the safety of children, the guardians of the community's

safety which we call juries will hold you accountable. >> reporter: the month-long trial revealed the scouts kept secret files of alleged child molesters for decades. >> the files are about 5,000 files of alleged in some cases proven sexual abuse in the boy scouts. >> reporter: the "los angeles times" created this investigation. >> the idea of the perversion files with the scouts is they are intended to keep abusing scout leaders from rejoining after they'd before found out. >> reporter: in the past they have said scouts are safer because those files exist. congre congre according to the "los angeles times" it followed a familiar pattern.

>> the scout leaders would groom the kids, buy them alcohol, show them porn and then the abuse would start. >> reporter: the newspaper said in many cases the boy scouts did not report the alleged abuser to the authorities. the victims suffering in secret. >> it's a life-long scarring thing for a lot of these kids. >> reporter: the boy scouts of america has since implemented new policies including criminal background checks, requiring two very more adults to be present at all scouting activities, prompt mandatory recording of any allegation or suspicion of abuse and a help line to report suspected abuse. as for chris, he says intense therapy and the support of his wife are helping him heal. >> if and when he wants to tell me more than he has, he will. but he needs someone to take care of him. >> reporter: i'm paula faris in

new jersey. up next, luis fonsi describes creating his hit song, "desposito" and what he likes most about the justin bieber collaboration. ♪ ♪ when you're close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to give you a chance at completely clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. do not use if you are allergic to taltz. before starting you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them.

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it was supposed to be the song of the summer but it's almost fall and still going

strong. despacito has transformed luis fonsi to an international superstar. tonight he tell me how it began as an ode to his homeland, puerto rico, battered by one hurricane and facing down another. >> reporter: it was the inescapable song of the summer. dominating the charts, infecting our brains with its undeniably catchy hook. capturing the world's attention, reaching number one on billboard's top 100 and staying there for 16 weeks. ♪ >> reporter: the first mostly spanish language song to reach the top spot in over 20 years and outside the latin music world most have not heard of luis fonsi. >> you are a 20-year overnight success. >> that's exactly it. >> does it feel fresh? >> it does. it feels like this is my first

album and i'm new to the game. >> reporter: fonsi is no stranger to chart topping hits. a latin grammy award winning performer known for ballads like this one. ♪ but it was despacito that helped him reach an international audience including none other than justin bieber who says after dancing to the song he wanted in. ♪ >> we had a full-on english translation and vocals recorded in english and we thought he was going to the an english version. but he took the time to learn in the spanish. >> people are impressed with bieber's spanish accent. >> it's legit? >> it is legit. >> reporter: fonsi said it is a dream come true that started with a simple rhyme. >> i had this melody and and

this word. and i had to rhyme puerto rico which is where i'm from and i had a writing session that afternoon. >> reporter: ek ka ender is a latin grammy award winner herself. >> i start playing it for her. >> and we started to make the whole thing from scratch. >> and four hours later we had despacito. >> we knew it had to be urban fusion in a certain way. that's what's going on right now. >> reporter: and that's where daddy yankee came in. >> then i tell him, why don't we talk about a man that is trying to get to a woman in a very nice way because this genre is very aggressive with women and this song is respectful. >> reporter: the video's director says fonsi had a simple, yet poignant idea for

the video. >> like a day in the life of the culture of puerto rico. we're talking about who the lead could possibly be we all knew it had to be someone who felt credible in the environment and above and beyond all, really was a true representative of the beauty in the caribbean. >> reporter: if showcasing puerto rico's beauty was the goal, zuleyka rivera was their answer. >> he said i just want you to feel the music. i just want you to be here. walk from here to there. and just feel the music. ♪ whatever you feel about the song, just do it. so pretty much i was freestyling. >> ms. puerto rico! >> reporter: that's her in 2006 being crowned miss universe bringing home the win for puerto rico. the dress in the video a nod to

that pageant dress. >> everybody is having a great time, dancing and so happy. and that's what you see in puerto rico. every time you go to puerto rico. >> reporter: turns out the single most watched youtube video of all time with 3.7 billion views and counting -- was all shot in one day. and edited here in this small studio in miami. the finished product? ♪ a song so infectious it inspired van videos from around the world, translated into dozens of languages. ♪ >> reporter: even sesame street with their version. >> it's been like a fever. it's crazy. >> this feels like a love song to puerto rico. >> i think the star of the show is puerto rico. it's a special place.

and it's an inspiration behind my music. and now to be able to sort of represent puerto rico through my music is a dream. >> reporter: fonsi was named tourism ambassador for his beloved puerto rico, his song used to lure visitors. >> we begin with a monster hurricane gaining strength in the atlantic. >> reporter: puerto rico was battered by hurricane irma, leaving a third of the island without power. as fonsi put out this warning. >> and later joining other celebrities to raise millions in relief, all part of the hand in hand telethon. ♪ as the island braces for another hurricane this week the video is now serving as a reminder of what's under threat. and yet at the same time for the creators, it's a heart felt ode to their puerto rico.

>> it doesn't matter language. it doesn't matter the culture. it's to enjoy life. >> exactly what you see is what everyone was feeling. >> i'm just thankful to know that 3 billion times people saw this video and sang the song and saw the beautiful sights. >> reporter: and for the rest of us, a reminder of the summer that was. ♪ up next, we are tracking hurricane maria, barrelling towards puerto rico, how people there are preparing for the worst. stay with us. >> announcer: abc news "nightline" brought to you by geico. i just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance with geico. huh. i should take a closer look at geico... geico can help with way more than car insurance. boats, homes, motorcycles... even umbrella coverage. this guy's gonna wish he brought his umbrella. fire at will! how'd you know the guy's name is will?

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finally tonight tracking yet another potentially devastating storm in the caribbean near many of the islands slammed by irma. hurricane maria a category 5 with sustained winds up to 160 miles an hour. rob marciano is in puerto rico

bracing for a catastrophic hit. >> reporter: puerto rico boarding up, the second major hurricane bearing down on the island in less than two weeks. flights to san juan usually packed with tourists, mostly residents scrambling to get back home. are people nervous, scared? >> definitely. it's been a while since we had such a strong hurricane hit us directly. >> reporter: the eye of hurricane irma passing just north of here. winds on the island reaching 70 miles an hour. devastating the virgin islands and the island of st. martin, destroying some 90% of the buildings on the island of barbuda. >> we cannot afford to become complacent. >> reporter: the islands racing to clear debris left behind by irma. >> all of the debris, we're worried about that becoming