At least eight cases of possible sexual abuse by Peninsula Boy Scout troop leaders and volunteers are part of the organization's so-called "perversion" files released Thursday to the public.
For decades, the Boy Scouts of America kept the files as a way to keep volunteers suspected of inappropriate sexual behavior away from children. The cases were not shared with parents or police.
The files became public Thursday as part of an $18.5-million settlement between the Boy Scouts and a victim.
Specific details and reports - including names of the accused - were only released in two of the cases, however.
The names and details of the other six cases are sealed, many of them hidden from police and even parents and only discovered through lawsuits. They are part of a database created through years of reporting at the Los Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles Times has created a list of the cases by year, city, state and troop number. The newspaper's list includes the time period covered by today's release - 1965 to 1985 - but also other accusations and documents gathered and released in various court cases.
Here is a list of the eight Peninsula cases, according to the Times' files.
According to the Times, the accused are identified below by name when files are available and by a unique number otherwise. If the same person is associated with more than one troop or unit, that name or number is repeated. Dates mark when the Boy Scouts created the file, not when the incidents are alleged to have occurred.
Redwood City:
1. Ronald S. Wentworth, 1972, Troop #146
2. ID #1612, 1987, Troop #199
San Mateo:
1. Robert Wong, 1989, Troop #18
2. ID #607, 1990, Troop #31
Palo Alto:
1. ID #2799, 1998, Troop #31
2. ID #1418, 1988, #152
Pacifica:
1. ID #126, 1988, Troop #264
Burlingame:
1. ID #3, 1958, Troop #369
Stay up-to-date on the latest local news - follow Patch!
Don’t be left out of the conversation taking place in Belmont--Sign up for our daily newsletter|Like Belmont|Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Start your own blog
Don’t be left out of the conversation taking place in San Carlos--Sign up for our daily newsletter | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter| Start a blog
They are very cunning and manipulative. They seek to work and volunteer in places where they have easy access to children. They know every trick on how to groom, threaten, lie, and put the fear of god into their victims and sometimes even their family members. They also appear to do a lot of goods things, they can be very charismatic and you may think they would never harm a child. They have to be this way, in order to not get caught and to continue to abuse. They count of their victims to stay silent. BUT, an even more powerful danger is when high ranking officials enable, empower, and cover up these crimes against kids. They need to be held accountable for allowing more innocent kids to be sexually abused. It is and was a crime to sexually abuse a child. Child sex abuse thrives in secrecy and secret systems that allow it to continue to this day. Keep in mind that child predators rarely have only one victim. So if you have been harmed by anyone in the Boy Scouts, church, or any institution, your silence only hurts, and by speaking up, contacting the police, and exposing the truth, there is a chance for healing, and protecting others. Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511. snapjudy@gmail.com, (SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests,) and others including the Boy Scouts.