Boy Scouts

Re “ Scouts employ aggressive tactics in abuse defense ,” Dec. 25 I was an assistant Cub Scout den leader in the early 1990s. I was required to participate in training that was all about protecting the boys from any sort of abuse. As I recall, we were instructed to be sure that boys were never left alone with only one adult; there were always supposed to be at least two. Maryly Cushingham Fullerton The Roman Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts have long fought public exposure of their pedophile scandals, at the expense of future victims' safety.

Re “ Scouts employ aggressive tactics in abuse defense ,” Dec. 25 I applaud The Times for reporting the disgusting practices of the Boy Scouts of America. The overwhelming evidence that shows how the Boy Scouts went after the victims rather than protecting young boys says everything we need to know about this corrupt organization. I am an Eagle Scout and had the privilege of having four Scoutmasters who were wonderful and brilliant teachers. These men were educators first and dedicated their careers to bettering young people's lives.

The Times on Tuesday released about 1,200 previously unpublished files kept by the Boy Scouts of America on volunteers and employees expelled for suspected sexual abuse. The files, which have been redacted of victims' names and other identifying information, were opened from 1985 through 1991. They can be found in a database along with two decades of files released by order of the Oregon Supreme Court in October. The database also contains summary information on about 3,200 additional files opened from 1947 to 2005 that have not been released publicly.

When a lawsuit alleged that two young brothers in Michigan had been molested “hundreds of times” by a troop leader, the Boy Scouts denied responsibility and pointed the finger at someone else - the boys' recently widowed mother. The Scouts faulted the woman “for her failure to provide adequate parental supervision,” suggesting in court papers that she was responsible for any harm to her sons. One of the boys' lawyers called that argument excessive. “The day their dad died, the perpetrator began to befriend the boys,” Kelly Clark said.

San Diego may lease public property to the Boy Scouts of America at a steeply discounted rate even though the group bans gays and atheists, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, overturning a lower court decision, said San Diego was not engaging in discrimination by leasing valuable property to the youth organization in exchange for the group's commitment to improve and manage the land. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by two couples, one lesbian, the other agnostic, who said that the city was subsidizing a group with discriminatory policies.

A state appellate court has upheld a Santa Barbara judge's order requiring the Boy Scouts of America to turn over two decades of confidential files on alleged sexual abuse. The Boy Scouts will appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court, a spokesman said Thursday. Lawyers for a former Scout, who was 13 when a volunteer leader sexually abused him in 2007, contend that the files will expose a "culture of hidden sexual abuse" in Scouting and the organization's failure to warn boys and their parents.

Re "Scouts fought background screening," Dec. 2 How sad to see the Boy Scouts of America join the Roman Catholic Church as an organization professing good while shielding evil. I am an Eagle Scout and the father of an Eagle Scout. If I'd known 20 years ago what your articles have uncovered, I wouldn't have allowed any of my children to join this dangerously hypocritical organization. I should have resigned as well. James Willwerth Altadena ALSO: Letters: Paying for TV we don't watch Letters: Going to the mat for rich taxpayers Letters: Israel's largesse for the Palestinians

Amid reports of widespread sexual abuse of children in the late 1980s, several leading youth organizations began conducting criminal background checks of volunteers and staff members. Big Brothers Big Sisters ordered the checks for all volunteers starting in 1986. Boys and Girls Clubs of America recommended their use the same year. One of the nation's oldest and largest youth groups, however, was opposed - the Boy Scouts of America. DATABASE: Search the "perversion" files  Scouting officials argued that background checks would cost too much, scare away volunteers and provide a false sense of security.

STILLWATER, N.J. - Dennis J. Pegg was happy to pay local boys a few bucks to mow the lawn at his house, which sat atop a hill overlooking the elementary school. He was eager to guide Boy Scouts as they mastered the skills of the great outdoors, and to assist hikers trekking the nearby Appalachian Trail. Pegg appeared to have no enemies in his close-knit, lakeside town of leafy glens and rolling hills - until last June, when his throat was slit and he was repeatedly stabbed in a killing that has raised questions about whether Pegg exploited his position in the Scouts for years to molest young boys.