Long Beach Men Listed in Boy Scouts 'Perversion Files'

At least one man connected to the Boy Scouts of America in Long Beach has been convicted of sexually related crimes, and there are 15 Long Beach entries in the Scouts' self-titled "Perversion Files" released to the public Thursday and published in a Los Angeles Times database.

For decades, the Boy Scouts of America kept the files as a way to keep volunteers suspected of inappropriate sexual behavior away from children. According to the Times, the cases were not shared with parents or police.

The files became public Thursday as part of an $18.5-million settlement between the Boy Scouts and a victim.

The Times' database contains about 5,000 men and a handful of women who were expelled from the Boy Scouts between 1947 and January 2005 on suspicion of sexual abuse, including 15 entries from Long Beach.

Two men connected to Long Beach were convicted of sexual offenses: Kevin Keen Morrison and Norman James Pace. Morrison is now a registered sex offender, according to the Megan's Law website.

Pace was not a Boy Scouts volunteer or leader. He was kept in the Scouts' files as a precaution in the event he tried to apply or participate in scouting because someone reported him to the Boy Scouts organization, the documents reveal.

Of the 15 Long Beach entries, only Morrison and Pace have attached documentation detailing their cases. Those documents were obtained by the Times. The remainder of the entries have no details about why the subjects were expelled from the Scouts.

"There have been instances where people misused their positions in Scouting to abuse children, and in certain cases, our response to these incidents and our efforts to protect youth were plainly insufficient, inappropriate, or wrong," BSA President Wayne Perry said in a statement. "Where those involved in Scouting failed to protect, or worse, inflicted harm on children, we extend our deepest apologies to victims and their families."

All BSA volunteers must complete background checks and comprehensive training, and staff are required to report even suspected cases of sexual abuse, he said.

"Experts have found that the BSA’s system of Ineligible Volunteer Files functions well to help protect Scouts by denying entry to dangerous individuals," he said.

According to a BSA "Know the Facts" page, items in the files include "tips and hearsay that cannot be proven in a court of law."

The organization also defended its decision to keep its files confidential, saying that the confidentiality "encourages prompt reporting" of incidents.

The Times has created a database of the cases by year, city, state and troop number. The newspaper's list includes the time period covered by Thursday's release (1965 to 1985), but also other accusations and documents gathered and released in various court cases.

Long Beach Boy Scouts Entries

Here is a list of the cases in Long Beach, according to the Times' files:

Sources: Timothy Kosnoff; Kelly Clark; Paul Mones; Boy Scouts of AmericaCredits: Ken Schwencke, Maloy Moore, Adolfo Flores, Joseph Serna, Andrew Khouri, Marisa Gerber, Laura Nelson, Daniel Schonhaut, M’Ballu Tejan-Sei