South of the border, thousands of the Boy Scouts of America’s so-called "perversion files" have been released to lawyers suing the organization. In an effort to keep them out of troops, the files document staff or volunteers suspected or convicted of molesting boys. But according to American lawyers who have seen the files the organization often kept allegations from police.
Seattle-based lawyer Tim Kosnoff, who represented the brothers, gained temporary access to more than 5,000 files dating from 1947 to 2005. The Scouts began the list in the 1920s but destroyed some files as former leaders died. A separate request before the Oregon Supreme Court is seeking to make the files public.
By Kosnoff's calculations, for the files dated between 1991 and 2005, about 2,500 individuals were placed on the perversion list over allegations of sex abuse, an average of one file created every two days.
A confidential 1972 policy memo by the Boy Scouts of America has also come to light, showing officials urged discretion when dealing with molesters. "Indicate [to the accused molester] that the BSA is not sharing this information with anyone and only wish him to stop all Scouting activity," it states.
Ontario lawyer Rob Talach says old files might hold clues to cases that authorities can still prosecute. (CBC)
"The Boy Scouts routinely did not notify the police when they became aware of child molesters," said Kosnoff. "Their primary concern was protecting the organization. So they covered it up."
Scouts Canada categorically denies that its files are similar to the secret records kept by its U.S. counterpart and stresses that the two agencies operate separately.
In a written statement, Janet Yale, Scouts Canada's executive commissioner and CEO, described the U.S. system as "pink files" that track "incidents, reports or even rumours concerning volunteer leaders."
"Unlike the Boy Scouts of America, Scouts Canada has no history of keeping so-called 'pink files,' 'pink folders,' 'secret lists' or 'secret files,'" wrote Yale. "To be clear, we keep no file, folders, lists or records of any kind that detail suspected instances of misbehaviour, policy violations or abuse on the part of volunteer leaders."
Yale stressed the organization does not monitor volunteer leaders "in the face of concerns or complaints," but rather suspends individuals and then looks into the complaint.
Scouts Canada spokesman John Petitti sent CBC an email later stating that the organization does keep records of suspension and termination, but information is shared with police and youth protection services.
"This is our policy and practice," he wrote. "And it has been our policy and practice for as long as we are able to determine. Furthermore, we are unaware of any exceptions to this policy and practice."
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