Attorney releases Boy Scouts ‘perversion files’

Thousands of pages of long-secret confidential documents kept by the Boy Scouts of America about men suspected of child sex abuse are now public and available online

The so-called “perversion files” document abuse allegations between 1965 and 1985. This is the first time that the earliest of the files, from 1959 to 1971, have been made public.

“What we’re looking at here represents as many as 6 [thousand] to 24,000 boys abused in Boy Scouting,” Portland attorney Kelly Clark tells KING 5. Clark led the effort to make the documents public.

“You do not get to keep secrets about hidden dangers to children, period. End of conversation,” Clark said.

The documents show that on numerous occasions, local officials helped cover up abuse allegations. They also show that in many cases, the pedophiles were kept out of Scouting — but other times, they were not.

David Clohessy, director of the Chicago-based Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, says police and prosecutors should considering prosecuting some of the people named in the files. “We think law enforcement officials should be scouring these files and should be using their bully pulpits to beg anybody who saw or suspected or suffered child sex crimes in the scouts, to come forward.”

The Boy Scouts began compiling the files nearly 100 years ago to identify child predators and keep them out the organization.

Boy Scouts President Wayne Perry says the files reflect the past and insists the organization is doing all it can to protect its members. “To the extent that we fell short of protecting youth, and we did fall short in some instances, we’re profoundly sorry,” he said.

“Youth protection has been with us for a long time, we’ve been a great organization on that. To the extent that there have been examples in the past of 40 years ago, I can’t explain those. All I can tell you is what we have today. And do I feel comfortable today? You bet. I think you’re far safer having your child in the Boy Scouts of America than anywhere else,” Perry says.

Since the 1990s, the Boy Scouts has implemented a number of policies to help prevent sexual abuse including special training, mandatory background checks for all volunteers and the requirement that all suspected abuse be reported to law enforcement.

Boeing engineer Tom Stewart, 46, was sexually abused by his Scoutmaster in Washington state from age 8 to 18.

“I do want to speak for all the victims that can’t speak for themselves. Scouting does have some good points however, right now it’s a dangerous program for young boys,” said Stewart.

The court-ordered release of the documents stems from a lawsuit Clark filed on behalf of an Oregon Boy Scout who sued because the organization failed to protect him from an assistant Scoutmaster who molested him in the 1980’s. A jury awarded him $18.5 million in 2010.

KIRO Radio Editor Karen Taylor contributed to this report.