By MICHELE M. BETTI | b&a opinions | https://bettiandassociates.com
The Oregon Supreme Court in a ruling on June 14, 2012 ordered the release of files dating back to 1965 detailing child abuse by the Boy Scouts of America volunteers and paid staff.
The 20,000 pages of abuse documents used in the trial as evidence will be made public. The ruling is based on a past Supreme Court case Nixon v. Warner Communications. The only caveat to the release of these secret documents is the redaction of victims’ names. Once completed, files from 1965 to 1985 will become public record.
The Oregon Supreme Court today gave advocates of child sexual abuse a significant win. By making these Boy Scouts of America’s secret “perversion files” public record the cover up by organizations becomes a reality to doubters of these types of lawsuits. The more we can make the public aware of such cover ups the more pressure we put on organizations and institutions to stop the silence of child sexual abuse by those in authority of children.
Copyright 2012, b&a opinions.
