Boy Scouts to Tell Police About Pedophiles in Records

Had been tracking offenders in their organization, but didn't always turn info over to authorities

The Boy Scouts of America plan to begin doing what critics argue they should have done decades ago—bring suspected abusers named in the organization's so-called perversion files to the attention of police departments and sheriff's offices across the country.

The Scouts have, until now, argued they did all they could to prevent sex abuse within their ranks by spending a century tracking pedophiles and using those records to keep known sex offenders out of their organization. But a court-ordered release of the perversion files from 1965 to 1985, expected sometime in October, has prompted Scouts spokesman Deron Smith to say the organization will go back into the files and report any offenders who may have fallen through the cracks.

Smith said Mike Johnson, the group's youth protection director and a former police detective, will lead the review.