Boy Scouts settle California lawsuit over sex abuse by volunteer Scout leader

By Gillian Flaccus, The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Boy Scouts of America agreed Thursday to settle a lawsuit by a 20-year-old California man who was molested by a Scout volunteer in 2007.

The settlement in the Santa Barbara case came after three days of trial. The Boy Scouts say the terms are confidential.

It’s unclear what the settlement means for the public’s access to years of so-called “perversion” files kept by the organization that detail sex abuse allegations.

Settlements in past cases in Texas and Minnesota have kept the files sealed.

Plaintiff attorneys in the current case won the right to introduce those files as evidence to build a case that the Boy Scouts were negligent by not properly educating about the dangers of sexual abuse.

The files in question included 16 years’ worth of documents never seen before.

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