Records: Scout abuse reporting lax in La.

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NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A large percentage of alleged sexual abuse allegations against Louisiana Boy Scout leaders were never reported to police, records showed.

The so-called "perversion files" kept by the Boy Scouts of America revealed 72 incidents involving adult Scout leaders in Louisiana, most of which were not reported to law enforcement.

Attorney Tim Kosnoff, who has sued Boy Scouts of America several times over sexual abuse allegations, told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune the scandal could have been stopped earlier if the organization had brought in the police rather than try to handle it in house.

"They've taken this great concept of scouting that can help so many kids and they have perverted because they were so worried about their own image instead of being worried about the boys they were trying to help," Kosnoff said.

The Times-Picayune said it appeared many of the alleged victims declined to call the authorities because they thought their experiences were isolated incidents.

"If adults would have told me he had done this to other boys, that it wasn't just me, if the police were contacted, it would have totally changed everything," former Scout Robert Walker told the newspaper. "It would have totally changed my life."