For over a century, millions of kids in America grew up as Boy Scouts. They learned how to start fires, tie knots, and survive the wilderness. These scouts took an oath to serve God and their country, help others at all times, and stay “physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” The whole idea was to shape them into upstanding citizens, future leaders, people with character.
On the surface, it looked like a wholesome, honorable organization. They had a massive presence across the country, billions of dollars in assets, and deep ties to churches and businesses. They even produced some of the most well-known figures in history, such as Bill Clinton, Steven Spielberg, and Hank Aaron.
But behind the crisp uniforms and merit badges, something much darker was happening. Something that required parents and guardians of these scouts to search for Boy Scouts sexual abuse attorneys en masse.
The Perversion Files
In 2012, a Pulitzer-winning journalist named Kim Christensen uncovered something that had been hidden for decades. He discovered and revealed to the world in his book On My Honor that over 82,000 former Scouts had been sexually abused by their troop leaders.
For years, the Boy Scouts kept a secret stash of documents known as the perversion files. These files contained detailed records of sexual abuse cases spanning decades. Parents had reported the crimes. Boys had come forward, naming their abusers. And yet, instead of taking action, the BSA locked it all away.
These files were hidden in a metal cabinet at the Boy Scouts’ headquarters in North Brunswick, New Jersey. Leaders at the top knew what was happening, but instead of calling the police, they buried the evidence.
They claimed they were protecting the boys’ reputation, when, in truth, they were protecting themselves. The Boy Scouts depended on parents paying dues and sponsors keeping the money flowing, and a scandal like this could bring the whole thing crashing down.
Between 1971 and 1993, the abuse crisis was at its worst. But until Christensen’s decade-long investigation, the full scale of it remained hidden.
Why the Boys Had No Protection
One of the most shocking things Christensen uncovered was how little the Boy Scouts did to screen their leaders. For decades, there were no background checks. None.
That meant men with prior arrests or even convictions for child sex crimes were able to sign up and lead troops. Some had already been convicted of abusing kids before joining the Scouts.
The BSA even had records showing that at least 230 men with known sex crime convictions were still registered Scout leaders. And those 230 men alone abused at least 400 boys.
Fingerprint checks weren’t introduced until 1994, and even then, they only applied to new volunteers. That meant anyone already in the system, any predator who had been around for years, wasn’t checked. They were free to keep doing what they’d been doing.
The Worst Cases Reported
The stories of what these men did to boys in their troops are gut-wrenching.
Take Timur Dykes, for example. He was an assistant Scoutmaster in Portland, Oregon, and a convicted child molester. He used his pet ferrets and a snake to lure boys to his house. Once they were there, he preyed on them. He later admitted to molesting 16 of the 30 boys in his troop.
And what happened to him? He got a misdemeanor charge and probation. That’s it. After that, he just kept hosting sleepovers for boys in Troop 719.
Or look at Kenneth Burns Jr., an Air Force sergeant and Scout leader in Alaska. He was kicked out of one pack for sleeping nude with Cub Scouts and showing them porn. You’d think that would have been the end of it, but he still managed to abuse at least 100 boys before finally being convicted in 2007.
And then there was Rodger Beatty, a scout leader in Newport, Rhode Island. He had this routine where he’d spread out mattresses on his living room floor for Scout sleepovers. Once the boys were asleep, he’d creep back in and attack them.
When he got caught, he didn’t go to jail. He just left the Boy Scouts for a little while, changed his name slightly, and rejoined.
The Fallout
Once the abuse scandal became public, lawsuits flooded in. Thousands of former Scouts came forward, and the financial fallout was massive. In 2020, the Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy. Eventually, they agreed to a $2.46 billion settlement, which was one of the largest sexual abuse settlements in history.
In an effort to rebrand, the organization changed its name to Scouting America. They also introduced new safety measures, including background checks and stricter rules to prevent abuse. But for many survivors, the damage was already done.
No matter what the Boy Scouts call themselves now, their legacy will always be tainted by the decades of secrecy, abuse, and cover-ups that defined them.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
