Jeff Anderson & Associates released the names Tuesday afternoon and there are 12 Boy Scout leaders from the Western New York area. A Manhattan-based law firm released the names of over 7,000 Boy Scout leaders across the country who are being accused of sexual abuse of minors. Jeff Anderson & Associates released the names Tuesday afternoon, and there are 12 Boy Scout leaders from the Western New York area that are on the list. Calling it a system of denial and cover-up, the attorney representing victims says the Boy Scouts have files on child abusers going back to the 1940s. The files show thousands of offenders have been removed, but it's been a secret. 2 On Your Side have all of the local names of perpetrators in the Boy Scouts from Western New York, but they will not be listed for legal purposes. They come from Grand Island, North Tonawanda, Depew, Buffalo and also Lackawanna. The Boy Scouts of America released a response, saying they apologize to anyone harmed and that they never knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth. 2 On Your Side reached out to the Boy Scouts of America about the list that was released and they provided us with this statement: "We care deeply about all victims of child abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We believe victims, we support them, and we have paid for unlimited counseling by a provider of their choice. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children. Throughout our history, we have enacted strong youth protection policies to prevent future abuse, including mandatory youth protection trainings and a formal leader-selection process that includes criminal background checks. Since the 1920s, we have maintained a Volunteer Screening Database to prevent individuals accused of abuse or inappropriate conduct from joining or re-entering our programs, a practice recommended in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control for all youth-serving organizations. At no time have we ever knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth, and we mandate that all leaders, volunteers and staff members nationwide immediately report any abuse allegation to law enforcement."<doc-sep>Two law firms will be releasing the names of roughly 200 Boy Scout leaders accused of sexual abuse from the 1960s up until the 2000s Tuesday. The leaders worked in New York and New Jersey. The names are listed in the Boy Scout of America’s “perversion files,” according to the New York Post. The law firms of Jeff Anderson & Associates and Greg Gianforcaro plan to reveal testimony from victims and demand the Boy Scouts release the identities of the leaders involved during a press conference. The two firms allege there have been over 7,000 abusers involved in the Boy Scouts of America organization and were named in the “perversion files.” The files include names of volunteers and leaders accused of sexual abuse. (RELATED: The Boy Scouts Are Changing Their Name To Be More Gender Neutral) Boy Scouts issued a statement Monday saying they “care deeply about all victims of child sex abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting,” NJ.com reported. Those “Perversion Files” … reflect that [the #BoyScouts] have removed thousands of offenders of childhood sexual abuse over the years and they’ve kept that in files secretly. — Anderson Advocates (@AndersonCause) April 23, 2019 What is alarming is that in a trial earlier this year it was revealed to us that there are 7,819 perpetrators of childhood sexual abuse in these [Perversion] files. #boyscouts — Anderson Advocates (@AndersonCause) April 23, 2019 “We believe victims, we support them, and we have paid for unlimited counseling by a provider of their choice,” the organization said. “Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children.”<doc-sep>
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The names of 180 local Boy Scout leaders accused of sexually abusing minors were revealed Tuesday. Two law firms released the names of 130 scout leaders from New York and 50 from New Jersey. The leaders have allegedly been accused of sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts of America’s so-called “perversion files.” Read more from CBS News “They may have removed them from scouting, they may have kept them in their perversion files, but they never alerted the community that this teacher, this coach, this scout leader who’s also a priest or an electrician is known to them to be a child molester,” attorney Jeff Anderson said. The firms called on the organization to reveal the identities of all local scout leaders accused of misconduct with minors. Web Extra: Read Statement From Boy Scouts Of America Boy Scouts of America sent CBS2 the following statement, “We care deeply about all victims of child abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We believe victims, we support them, and we have paid for unlimited counseling by a provider of their choice. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children. Throughout our history, we have enacted strong youth protection policies to prevent future abuse, including mandatory youth protection trainings and a formal leader-selection process that includes criminal background checks. Since the 1920s, we have maintained a Volunteer Screening Database to prevent individuals accused of abuse or inappropriate conduct from joining or re-entering our programs, a practice recommended in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control for all youth-serving organizations. At no time have we ever knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth, and we mandate that all leaders, volunteers and staff members nationwide immediately report any abuse allegation to law enforcement.” To read the complete statement, click here.