New Files May Detail Sex Abuse Within Boy Scouts

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Confidential files turned over for a lawsuit set to go to trial in Minnesota may shed new light on the problem of sexual abuse within the Boy Scouts of America.

The lawsuit centers on a scoutmaster now in prison for molesting Scouts.

One of the victims' attorneys, Jeff Anderson, won a court order forcing Scouting to produce files from 1999-2008 on adult leaders accused of improper conduct. They're newer than similar files made public in a mass release in an Oregon case last year, which covered 1965-1985.

Anderson declined to give details about what the new documents might show during the trial that begins Monday in St. Paul.

One expert says the files could show how the Boy Scouts evolved in their response to abuse allegations over the years.