Boy Scout sex abuse allegations released

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - They're called the "perversion files;" thousands of pages of sex abuse allegations leveled by Boy Scouts across the country.

These 14,500 pages range from the years 1959 to 1985. They'd been kept at the Boy Scouts headquarters in Texas until the Oregon Supreme Court issued an order to make them public.

“I was a den mother, I had two boys who were Boy Scouts for years. It was great. We love camping. The camp-outs were the best part. We did jamborees, the race car thing,” said Tracy Viola of Springfield.

But newly released "perversion files" show it wasn't such a positive experience for all Scouts. The thousands of sex abuse allegation files released Thursday include notes from local and national Scout leaders, letters from victims and families, and newspaper articles about court cases. More than one  third of the incidents weren't reported to police.

Scout executive David Kruse of the Western Massachusetts Council of Boy Scouts declined to comment on the release of the files. He referred 22News to a scouting public relations number in St. Louis that's been bombarded with calls and emails.

In a press release, Boy Scouts of America president Wayne Perry explained the current protection policies:

"Scouting's two-deep leadership policy requires at least two adults to be present for all Scouting activities. No youth should ever be alone with a Scout leader for any reason."

One woman told 22News she feels she has more to worry about than other generations did.

“You just kind of do your research and look into different camps and organizations first but it's not going to prevent me from getting my kids involved,” said Jessica Tansey of Westfield.

And her husband said the upsetting news won't change his view of his time as a Cub Scout.

“We can't lead our lives any differently we all know there's dangers out there. We can't make all these changes and live in a scared society,” said Colin Tansey.

The Boy Scouts of America did apologize for mishandling situations in the past, and will now have to review the files and notify police of any good-faith suspicions of abuse that had not been reported.