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Santa Barbara County Judge Orders Boy Scouts to Release Molestation Allegation Files
A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge has ordered the Boy Scouts of America to turn over confidential records of sexual-abuse allegations to the parents of a Goleta teenager who was molested by his troop leader in 2007.
The family of the now 17-year-old youth filed suit against the Irvine, Texas-based organization after the former Scout leader, Al Stein, was convicted of molesting the boy as they worked at a BSA Christmas tree lot at 5875 Calle Real in Goleta. A second Scout came forward with similar allegations after Stein’s arrest.
Stein, now 32, was sentenced to two years in prison in 2009 but was paroled early and reportedly is living in a Salinas motel with other sex offenders.
Judge Donna Geck, who is overseeing the lawsuit, has ordered the Scouts to hand over the last 20 years’ worth of records by Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
The victims’ names are to be removed and Geck ordered that the files not be made public.
The BSA documents, which have been kept since the 1920s, are known within the organization as “ineligible volunteer files” and officials say they are intended to keep suspected molesters and others accused of misconduct out of Scouting.
BSA officials have resisted the documents’ release, citing the privacy rights of victims and claiming that many of the records are based on unproven allegations. As of Sunday night, the organization has not said whether it would comply with or appeal Geck’s order.
The trial is scheduled for April.
In keeping with guidelines established in Noozhawk’s style manual, the names of sexual-abuse victims are withheld.
— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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