SALEM, Ore., June 14 (UPI) -- The Oregon Supreme Court said Thursday the Boy Scouts must open up their records on volunteers suspected of child abuse but can keep their names out.
The Scouts had wanted to keep the names in the so-called perversion files a secret; however, the court said in a ruling issued Thursday that a lower court had acted properly in ordering the release of the files with the names of the volunteers in question redacted.
"The Court held that it was within the trial court's discretion to order redaction of names of those who had been victims of child sexual abuse and those who reported suspected child sexual abuse in order to protect those persons from embarrassment, retaliation or other harm," the court said in a written statement.
The justices also agreed the trial judge had acted properly when he delayed the release of the list until the case had been reviewed by an appeals court.
Various media outlets and other parties had demanded a complete and unaltered version of the perversion files be released. They argued blocking out the names violated Oregon's "open court" rules.
KOIN-TV in Portland said the case grew out of a series of lawsuits filed by at least seven former Boy Scouts who alleged the organization was aware some of its Scout leaders were abusing or had previously abused boys.
