Did Boy Scouts Keep "Perversion Files?"

(CBS)  In a Portland, Ore., courtroom, the witness identified as "Jack Doe No. 4" testifies uneasily about being an 11-year-old Boy Scout alone with his troop leader in 1983.

"He grabbed my hand, and he slid it up his leg into his shorts," the witness said.

The troop leader, Timur Dykes, had already admitted to a Scout official that he had molested 17 boys. Still parents were not notified and Dykes continued to work with the Scouts. In a deposition he confessed to abusing Jack Doe No. 4.

Dykes was asked what he did that could be considered molestation.

"I handled his genitals," Dykes said.

But the former troop leader isn't on trial, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone. The case is against the Boy Scouts, who kept confidential files on Dykes and on thousands of molesters, intended to keep them out of scouting but keep the incidents quiet.

"They wanted to just get the guy to go away," said Patrick Boyle, an investigative journalist. "And let's hope he doesn't show up again. So that means very frequently, nobody told the police."

Now the secrecy is being lifted in an Oregon courtroom.

"The Perversion Files," as the Scouts called them, have rarely been seen publicly -- but now, 20,000 pages have been admitted as evidence in the trial.

"It's shocking to read case after case of sex abuse of men preying on boys," Boyle said. "What's also shocking - you realize how much the Scouts knew."

In a written statement, the Boy Scouts of America says it can't comment on the case in Oregon but says the files are used to track those "not eligible for … membership" and are just one way to "ensure a safe and healthy experience for … Scouts."

However Jack Doe No. 4 says because neither parents nor police were notified the perversion files did nothing to protect him. The abuse haunts him to this day.

"I can't sleep," he said. "Sometimes I go days without sleeping."

He's suing the Boy Scouts for $14 million, saying they should have used the perversion files not to protect the organization -- but to protect the boys.

[VA_Jill]

This behavior is against the LAW, not just an "inconvenience" for the BSA. It should have been reported, and the local council as well as the BSA should be punished for not doing so. What about "morally straight" do they not understand? I did not encourage my sons to join the Boy Scouts, and I have actively DIScouraged my grandsons from doing so. This is just one of many reasons why.

[Ankhorite]

Gosh, I can't tell you how thrilled I am that the Boy Scouts have spent time and money seeking out and throwing out atheists and gay people, both Scouts and Scoutmasters -- while just dumping child rapists in their sooper seekrit file.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/bsa.htm

This is the pledge Scouts take. Pity that their leadership missed the part about "on my honor" "doing my best" "to help other people" and "morally straight." What's moral about hushing up incidents of sexual predation? How does that help anyone except the predator...and the reckless organization itself?

On my honor . . .
. . . I will do my best . . .
. . . To do my duty to God . . .
. . . and my country . . .
. . . and to obey the Scout Law;
. . . To help other people at all times;
. . . To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Join the Girl Scouts! They allow boys and they are committed to REAL American values: religious tolerance, non-discrimination, and equality.

Girl Scout Pledge (allowing substitution of personal belief for "God")
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/promise_law/

See section on left about co-educational troops:
http://www.g1rlz.com/Girl_Guide_and_Girl_Scout/

Or try any of these:
http://www.scoutingforall.org/data/layer02/mission.html
http://www.campfireusa.org/Mission_and_Core_Values.aspx
http://www.camp-quest.org/ (seculars, humanists, atheists, etc.)
http://www.spiralscouts.org/node/2 (wiccan, pagan, and all other faiths)

[diamruby]

As long as people teach their children that they must belong, believe & trust religious organizations then we will have this problem. The Boy Scouts of America should be named the Boy Scouts of The Mormons as they have taken over this organization and have allowed the abuse to be covered up just like they do other abuse within their organization. Stop joining these cults, which preach lies & take over your life. All the persons that abused these children no matter how old or where they are should be punished & imprisoned for life as all rapist & abusers should.

[endurorob_5]

The BSA needs to pay a price for this. They should not have kept the incidents a secret. Butwhy is the former troop leader not charged? He has admitted to what he did.

[RoboBlogger]

They were kept secret probably because it was kept as a scorecard.

[RickCain4150]

Parents need to understand that just because somebody has official title doesn't mean they can be trusted with their children.

Children should be treated like nuclear weapons, there should always be a buddy system of 2 people to make sure one of them doesn't do something stupid/illegal.

These pervs are sick and need to go to prison forever. They destroy lives because of their dirty little proclivities.

[fedup12]

Boy scouts now require 2 deep leadership and background checks as well as training in this.

[Fatesrider]

What do the Boy Scouts and the Catholics have in common?

A religious basis, leaders who molest their charges and a hierarchy that does whatever it can to protect the organization at the expense of their members.

To me, this just proves that most organized religions (including religiously-based organizations) are in it for the power and prestige of the organization rather than for any seemingly altruistic purposes. It's obvious they care more for themselves than for their members.

[ClownsOnLeft_Jokers2Right]

I was on board with everything until I got to the "he wants $14 million dollars part" and then I realized this whole story is one big joke.

[CBSisCommunist5]

and the liberals want GAYS in the military/scouting...

[robbyr2]

How are these connected?
And there are of course gays in the military and in scouting. A gay scout is more likely not to report a pedophile because it means being kicked out of the Scouts.