Boy Scouts statue in Philadelphia

Bruce Andersen, Creative Commons

he Boy Scouts of America failed to report hundreds of cases of child sexual abuse and, in at least 100 cases between 1970 and 1991, actively sought to cover up the abuse allegations, according to a review of 1,600 confidential "perversion files" by The Los Angeles Times. Some of those accused child molesters were able to continue abusing minors. About 1,200 files, from 1965 to 1985, are about to be made public under order from the Oregon Supreme Court. The Boy Scouts of America has kept files on "ineligible volunteers" since 1919, but the blacklist has not always worked; the organization beefed up their sexual abuse policies in 2010, including mandatory reporting to law enforcement of any suspected child abuse.