The Boy Scouts of America will release 20 years of files today naming 1,200 scout leaders and volunteers accused of sexual abuse between the years 1965 and 1985, and providing details of the allegations, The Daily News reported. Names of the victims will not be released, in the so-called "perversion files."
The Oregon Supreme Court ordered the files be made public following a 2010 verdict in favor of a man who was sexually abused by an assistant scout master in the 1980s, and a finding that the organization failed to protect the plaintiff, even though the accused scout master had already admitted to molesting scouts.
In that decision the court said that the Boy Scouts of America's file of "ineligible volunteers," showed the organization knew it had a sex abuse problem and was actively covering it up.
The law firm O'Donnell, Clark & Crew, which argued the 2010 case, winning an $18.5 million judgment, is distributing the files.
Following an investigation, The Los Angeles Times revealed that, "In hundreds of cases, allegations of child molestation were never reported to police, and that more than 125 men named in the files were able to volunteer for other Boy Scout troops -- and continue to prey on kids."
Boy Scout president Wayne Perry admitted to CNN Wednesday night there were times when his organization's response to sex abuse accusations "were plainly insufficient, inappropriate or wrong."
Today's release follows the online publication of the names of more than 1,900 scouting volunteers accused of abuse between 1971 and 1991. The complete "perversion files" date all the way back to 1919 and contain more than 20,000 names, according to the Associated Press.
Related Articles
Join the Conversation