PORTLAND, Ore. (AP & WZZM) -- A trove of some 14,500 pages from the Boy Scouts' so-called "perversion files" have been made public, and the files show that on numerous occasions local officials helped cover up abuse allegations.
A Portland attorney held a news conference on Thursday after which he made the files available.
The documents date from 1959 to 1985. This is the first time the earliest documents -- those from 1959 to 1971 -- have been made public.
The documents show that in many instances the files succeeded in keeping pedophiles out of Scouting, but many times they did not.
The Associated Press obtained copies of the files weeks in advance and conducted an extensive review of them.
Click here for the Boy Scout "Perversion" list. Please note, the website is very slow because of the web traffic.
Here are the names associated with Michigan. For information on the individuals, click on the associated PDF.
The list carries the following disclaimer from www.kellyclarkattorney.com, which released the list:
The information contained in the ineligible volunteer ("IV") files is being made public pursuant to a court order from The Honorable John Wittmayer, Multnomah County Circuit Judge for the State of Oregon, in the case of Lewis vs. Boy Scouts of America, Case No. 0710-11294. The Oregon Supreme Court upheld the ruling on June 14th, 2012.
By the terms of Judge Wittmayer's order, the names and contact information of persons identified as victims of sexual abuse and those that reported the abuse were redacted. If the person identified as an abuse reporter was a professional Scouter, i.e., an individual employed by the Boy Scouts of America or an affiliate, then the name was not redacted.
The information in the IV files concerns allegations of child sexual abuse. In a number of the cases, the allegations were later substantiated by court proceedings. However, in a great many cases no such substantiation ever occurred. Consequently, the law firms of O'Donnell Clark and Crew LLP and Paul Mones, and any agent or representative thereof, make no representations or suggestions that any of the allegations in these files are in every case true. In fact, we are in no position to verify or attest to the truth of these allegations as they were compiled by the Boy Scouts of America. The incidents reported in these documents attest to notice of potential child abuse given to the Boy Scouts of America and its affiliates and their response to that notice.
For more information on the BSA trial, click here. To return to the Kelly Clark attorney home page, click here.