From the early 1920s the Boy Scouts kept confidential files on adults barred for credible information of sexual misconduct toward children. University of Virginia researchers given the whole archive described three purposes: identifying offenders, recognizing them if they re-registered, and preserving evidence for litigation defense. The files reached the public through a 2010 Oregon trial, and the episode closes on the researchers' warnings.
Who's who
- Janet I. WarrenUniversity of Virginia researcher who studied the entire revocation archive
- Jacqueline ReedUniversity of Virginia co-author of the 2021 study
- Patrick BoyleJournalist whose reporting and book brought the files to public attention
- Brad HoylmanSponsor of New York's Child Victims Act
- Lorena Gonzalez FletcherAuthor of California's Assembly Bill 218
Where it happens
- Multnomah County, OregonSite of the 2010 trial that opened the archive
- New York StatePassed the Child Victims Act in 2019
- California+30 more episodesPassed Assembly Bill 218 in 2019
Timeline
- Early 1920sThe confidential Ineligible Volunteer files begin
- 2010Oregon trial produces an $18.5 million punitive verdict and a court order opening the records
- October 19, 2012Files on 1,247 alleged cases from 1965 to 1985 are released
- February 14, 2019New York's Child Victims Act is signed
- October 13, 2019California's AB 218 is chaptered
- 2021Warren and Reed publish: 7,819 individuals revoked and 12,254 alleged victims, 1946-2016
Still debated
A widely repeated 1919 origin date for the files could not be confirmed, and the page count of the 2012 release is disputed. The counts in the study do not measure total harm, and no comparable archive exists elsewhere to judge Scouting against other organizations.