Boy Scouts Ordered to Turn Over Sex Abuse Files

Family accuses Scouts of cover-up
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 21, 2012 12:29 AM CST
Boy Scouts Ordered to Turn Over Sex Abuse Files
Scouts officials have long refused to release the files, saying they contain unproven allegations.   (Shutterstock)

The Boy Scouts of America has been ordered to turn over 20 years of files that allegedly show that the organization covered up sexual abuse and protected pedophiles. A judge overseeing a lawsuit brought by the family of a boy molested by a Scout leader has told the Scouts to surrender files that detail allegations of sexual abuse around the country, CBS reports. Scout officials say the files "exist solely to keep out individuals whose actions are inconsistent with the standards of Scouting," and do not conceal abuse.

The family's lawyers accuse the Scouts of negligence, and claim the files will expose how the organization failed to warn parents about the "pedophilic wolves" in its ranks. The boy's mother says that when she told Scout officials that her 13-year-old son had been abused, the local leader told her not to call the police. "He said that wasn't necessary, because the Scouts do their own internal investigation," she tells the Los Angeles Times. "I thought that was really weird. I thought it was really important to call the sheriff right away." (More lawsuit stories.)

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