Monday, September 17, 2012

Boy Scouts Of America Documents Show Child Abuse Cover-Up

Posted By on Mon, Sep 17, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Just as the black-eye from refusing to allow gays to participate in the Boy Scouts of America started to fade, the BSA takes another punch to their image: the Los Angeles Times has uncovered that the majority of sexual abuse cases over a 20 year period went unreported, while nearly 100 were actively suppressed by the organization.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The details are contained in the organization's confidential "perversion files," a blacklist of alleged molesters, that the Scouts have used internally since 1919. Scouts' lawyers around the country have been fighting in court to keep the files from public view.

As The Times reported in August, the blacklist often didn't work: Men expelled for alleged abuses slipped back into the program, only to be accused of molesting again. Now, a more extensive review has shown that Scouts sometimes abetted molesters by keeping allegations under wraps.

In the majority of cases, the Scouts learned of alleged abuse after it had been reported to authorities. But in more than 500 instances, the Scouts learned about it from boys, parents, staff members or anonymous tips.
There is no indication the Scouts took the matter to law enforcement.

...

In 1976, five Boy Scouts wrote detailed complaints accusing a Pennsylvania scoutmaster of two rapes and other sex crimes, according to his file. He abruptly resigned in writing, saying he had to travel more for work.

"Good luck to you in your new position," a top troop representative wrote back. He said he was accepting the resignation "with extreme regret."

For more, check out the story at the Los Angeles Times.

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