Boy Scouts of America records reveal sex predators allowed back into organization

Boy Scouts of America internal documents reveal more than 125 cases in which men suspected of molesting Scouts allegedly continued with the organization, despite a blacklist exposing them as sexual predators.

A Los Angeles Times review of more than 1,200 files from 1970 to 1991 found suspected abusers regularly remained in the organization after officials were first presented with sexual misconduct allegations.

Some falsified their identities, while others took advantage of clerical errors and computer glitches to turn up at other Boy Scout troops.

In at least 50 cases, the Scouts expelled suspected abusers, only to discover they had re-entered the program and were accused of molesting again.

The LA Times gives the example of a Minnesota man who was jailed for abusing a boy but returned to lead his troop upon his release in 1991.

An Indiana scoutmaster convicted in 1970 of abusing a 14-year-old boy went on to lead two troops in Illinois from 1971 to 1988.

He eventually confessed to assaulting more than 100 other boys and was sentenced to 100 years in prison.

Despite this, the New York Daily News cited Boy Scouts Chief Executive Robert Mazzuca as saying in June: "It is a fact that Scouts are safer because the barrier created by these files is real."

However, the News noted, the files were stored in locked cabinets at the organization’s headquarters in Texas and accessible to only a few people.

In response to the LA Times review, the organization released a statement saying: "The Boy Scouts of America believes even a single instance of abuse is unacceptable, and we regret there have been times when the BSA's best efforts to protect children were insufficient. For that we are very sorry and extend our deepest sympathies to victims."

The LA Times printed a selection of entries in the Boy Scouts of Amer­ica blacklist.

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