Santa Barbara BSA Case Settles: Perversion Files from 1991-2007 Will Remain Sealed

After three days of trial, on January 29, 2015, the Boy Scouts and the plaintiff settled this sexual abuse case. This case followed the same path as better than 99% of sexual abuse cases. Parties settle because it is in their best interests to do so – and obviously here that was the case. But this settlement illustrates why the trial in 2010 in Portland, Oregon was so unique. There we litigated the case for over 6 weeks, spending hours upon hours going through numerous BSA Perversion files. In Santa Barbara there was much fanfare concerning the release of the BSA Perversion files from 1991-2007. Some media outlets portrayed it as a Pandora’s Box however those reporters obviously forgot that over 1200 files from 1965-1985 were already released and in the public domain as a result of the Portland case.