Boy Scout "Perversion files" Show BSA Leaders Hid Abuse

I noted yesterday that the Los Angeles Times was going to release thousands of pages of documents that showed how the Boy Scouts of America - much like the Catholic Church hierarchy - deliberately covered up the sexual abuse of children and youths even  as they carried on an anti-gay agenda and expelled gay scouts and scout leaders from the organization. As noted before, the hypocrisy and disregard for the safety and well being of those in their charge is shocking.  But sadly, it is all too typical of those who claim to support "Christian values" yet show themselves to be morally bankrupt.  It is another example of the danger of giving special deference to undeserving organizations and ignoring the safety of children and minors.  Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot on yesterday's document dump:

Again and again, decade after decade, an array of authorities - police chiefs, prosecutors, pastors and Boy Scout leaders among them - quietly shielded scoutmasters and others accused of molesting children, a newly opened trove of confidential papers shows.

At the time, those authorities justified their actions as necessary to protect the good name and good works of Scouting, a pillar of 20th century America. But as detailed in 14,500 pages of secret "perversion files" released Thursday by order of the Oregon Supreme Court, their maneuvers allowed sexual predators to go free while victims suffered in silence.

The files are a window on a much larger collection of documents the Boy Scouts of America began collecting soon after their founding in 1910. The files, kept at Boy Scout headquarters in Texas, consist of memos from local and national Scout executives, handwritten letters from victims and their parents and newspaper clippings about legal cases. The files contain details about proven molesters but also unsubstantiated allegations.

The allegations stretch across the country and to military bases overseas, from a small town in the Adirondacks to downtown Los Angeles.  The confidential files include 23 entries from South Hampton Roads; only seven identify the expelled Scout leaders by name. Six of the cases were prosecuted with one ending in a not guilty verdict. Defendants in the other cases were found guilty or pleaded guilty to charges including sodomy, rape and aggravated sexual battery. The cases date from 1963 to 1999.

[A]t a news conference in Portland on Thursday, attorney Kelly Clark blasted the Boy Scouts for their continuing legal battles to try to keep the full trove of files secret.  "You do not keep secrets hidden about dangers to children," said Clark, who in 2010 won a landmark lawsuit against the Boy Scouts on behalf of a plaintiff who was molested by an assistant scoutmaster in the 1980s.

The Associated Press obtained copies of the files weeks ahead of Thursday's release and conducted an extensive review of them but agreed not to publish the stories until the files were released. Clark was releasing the documents to the public online at www.kellyclarkattorney.com; he said the website was operating slowly Thursday because so many people were trying to access it. The Los Angeles Times also documented the cases at spreadsheets.latimes.com/boyscouts-cases.

[T]the files also are littered with horrific accounts of alleged pedophiles who were able to continue in scouting because of pressure from community leaders and local Scouts officials.  The files also document other troubling patterns. There is little mention of concern for the welfare of Scouts who were abused by their leaders, or what was done for the victims. But there are numerous documents showing compassion for alleged abusers, who were often sent to psychiatrists or pastors to get help.

It is far past time that the Boy Scouts cease receiving special privileges and deference - and public financial support.  It is also time that BSA leaders involved in the cover ups be criminally prosecuted.