‘Perversion files’ shows abuse of Boy Scouts in tri-city area
Of the roughly 5,000 men and women who were ousted from the Boy Scouts of America on suspicion of sexual abuse, several were tied to cases in the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena region, according to an L.A. Times database of “perversion files” released this week.
The database of the organization’s perversion files identifies as many as three abuse reports filed in Glendale, two in La Crescenta, one in Pasadena and one in Burbank, according to The Times. Those figures could change as more information is released in the coming months.
Names and documents have yet to be released by The Times for the 1987 report in Pasadena, the 1958 file in Burbank and a 1986 report filed in La Crescenta.
Few details have been released about the Glendale incidents, but the files were created in 1989 and 1996.
A search of the database revealed a March 1984 file for a then-40-year-old Glendale man and a 1974 file for a man who was 43 at the time and worked in a Cub Scout committee in La Crescenta.
The Scouts’ Verdugo Hills Council — which covers Burbank, Glendale, La Crescenta and other communities — referred all comments Friday regarding the perversion files to the Boy Scouts of America national office. A representative for that office could not be reached Friday, but the organization has defended the files in past statements, contending they were “a key method to keep Scouts safe.”
“There have been instances where people misused their positions in Scouting to abuse children, and in certain cases, our response to these incidents and our efforts to protect youth were plainly insufficient, inappropriate or wrong,” the organization’s president, Wayne Perry, said in a statement. “Where those involved in Scouting failed to protect, or worse, inflicted harm on children, we extend our deepest and sincere apologies to victims and their families.”
Response to the files from parents has so far been tepid, according to Joey Robinson, program director and spokesman for the San Gabriel Valley Council office in Pasadena.
Only one parent has called to inquire about how to handle the news and where to get more information, he said. Scouting officials have advised Robinson to refer all inquiries to their national organization, he added.
The Pasadena council plans to release a statement early next week, but Robinson said they are still trying “to get our arms around on what we need to do.”
The Times’ database identifies men and a “handful” of women who were expelled from the Boy Scouts between 1947 and January 2005.
The files stem from an Oregon Supreme Court order to release the documents this week, evidence in a 1992 lawsuit in California, and case summaries given to The Times by Seattle attorney Timothy Kosnoff, who has represented plaintiffs suing the Boy Scouts.
Charges were never filed in many of the documented incidents, according to The Times.
According to scores of interviews and after reviewing a large cache of documents, The Times discovered that some Scout officials helped alleged molesters with cover-ups and never reported hundreds of sexual abuse allegations to police.
This is part of an upcoming series of articles related to the Los Angeles Times’ reporting on the Boy Scouts of America files. Times staff writers and reporting contributed to this article.