ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
There are Tough Questions for the Boy Scouts of America after thousands of pages of documents show the organization shielded scoutmasters and others accused of molesting children.
The Atlanta chapter defends the formerly confidential files, saying they protected the children involved in Boy Scouts.
The documents about alleged abuse by adults involved alarming. One file from Athens reads, "I believe there is justifiable cause to place the accused on the confidential list." It goes on to say there are, "accusations concerning sexual misconduct." One father alleges the man "forced his son to perform oral sex acts."
"We know what it means when you trust your kids safety to us and we take it very seriously," Jeff Fulcher, with Boy Scouts of America Atlanta Area Council, said.
The community questions that commitment after it appears the Boy Scouts tried to cover up alleged abuse, putting names of accused offenders into a confidential file. A document from Henry County says, "the person in question has not been convicted or served time. This incident was kept out of the courts and the press."
Fulcher admits it's concerning to think men may have gotten involved with the Boy Scouts to get closer to young boys. "Of course it is, but your boys are safe in scouting, safer than they are in general society," Fulcer said.
Fulcher said the files were kept to keep the alleged offenders out of the boy scouts for good, not to protect them.
"Law enforcement has very high standards of what they can do to convict someone. Around here, we don't play with our scouts safety. It's our No. 1 priority, so even if we have a good faith estimate that something bad has happened, we're going to keep them away from our scouts," Fulcher said.
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