13 local men appear on perversion list

At the time, those authorities justified their actions as necessary to protect the good name and good works of Scouting, a pillar of 20th century America. But as detailed in 14,500 pages of secret "perversion files" released Thursday by order of the Oregon Supreme Court, their maneuvers allowed sexual predators to go free while victims suffered in silence.

The files are a window on a much larger collection of documents the Boy Scouts of America began collecting soon after their founding in 1910. The files, kept at Boy Scout headquarters in Texas, consist of memos from local and national Scout executives, handwritten letters from victims and their parents and newspaper clippings about legal cases. The files contain details about proven molesters, but also unsubstantiated allegations.

There are 13 men from Hampton Roads on the list, who were all kicked out of the organization because of the suspicion they were abusing children.

"You need to stop people who have been identified as predators or might be predators from having access to kids," Boy Scouts of America's Tidewater Council representative Bill Deany said.

Click here to read a letter from the Tidewater Council's president.

Since the late 1950s the Boy Scouts of America ha ve been compiling the list of offenders. Scout officials say it's used as a tool to keep those accused out of the organization.

"I think there are definitely some people on the list that have done something wrong and should be on the list ," Deany said. "There are also some people that haven't done anything ."

WAVY.com looked into the backgrounds of the Hampton Roads men, many of them have moved from the area or passed away. There only four who still live in Hampton Roads.

Deany says his organization is now focusing on edu cation. He says in this day and age, it's much easier to do background checks.

" We make sure parents and kids know what the signs of abuse is and how to prevent it ," Deany said. " It's important to do you do diligence and make sure that the person you see in front of you is the person you see in front of you. "

Click here to read the Tidewater Council's procedures for screening adult volunteers.

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