SALINAS, Calif.- "The perversion files". They show decades of alleged sexual abuse against Boy Scout leaders and volunteers covered up by the organization. The Center for Investigative action went to work and found dozens of cases from right here on the Central Coast.
We found seven of them in Santa Cruz, Gilroy, Salinas, Monterey and Carmel, five more from Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Avila Beach and Arroyo Grande and eight more in Santa Maria, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Santa Barbara and Carpinteria. But it doesn't stop there the more we looked the more we dug up.
Confidential information swept under the rug for decades by the Boy Scouts of America, finally came to light. The report showed more than three hundred sexual abuse claims in California, and at least 24 on the Central Coast. Many of the incidents went unreported to police.
"So we know the numbers are in the thousands and most of these people will never ever come out. Many people who may read these files will stay silent," said attorney Paul Mones.
The Boy Scouts petitioned to keep information from a 2010 molestation case in Oregon sealed. But a judge decided the information was just too egregious to keep locked up. More than 1,200 so called perversion files hold information on some abuse cases between 1947 to 2005.
"Which is to say that the Boy Scouts knew they had a institution wide problem of child abuse and didn't take steps to deal with that. The secrets are out. Child abuse thrives in secrecy and secret systems are where it breeds," said attorney Kelly Clark.
On Thursday night, the Central Coast Boy Scouts of America Chapter told us improvements were made and training has changed over the past several years, to make sure children are safe.
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