Chief Scout Executive Wayne Brock said that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have taken measures to protect Scouts from predators, including instituting criminal background checks and a policy requiring that no Scout ever be in the presence of just one adult leader.

The admission follows an investigation by the Los Angeles Times which uncovered allegations of molestation against Scout leaders that date as far back as 1919. In hundreds of instances, there was no record to indicate that police were contacted. In other cases, leaders accused of abuse were permitted to provide false reasons for having left Scouting.

The co-called “perversion files” were kept by Scouting officials as a means of “weeding out” bad leaders, officials said. But the Times investigation found more than 125 men with “perversion files” had been able to access and prey on children by falsifying names, or taking advantage of poor protocols.

In June, an Oregon judge ruled that the files should be released to the public under the open records provision of the state’s constitution (with names of possible victims and whistleblowers redacted) –CLIFF DUNN

The program, called Learning for Life, was said to be a character education program which teaches students values like respect, responsibility, honesty and fairness. A $54,000 grant would have supported the program at several Pinellas County schools. The school board decided not to fund the program due to the Boy Scouts’ discrimination against gay youth.

The Boy Scouts have said that homosexuality is inconsistent with its values. The Supreme Court ruled it is the private organization’s right.