“Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of The Boy Scouts of America” to be Released September 6
(Saint Paul, MN) – On August 14, Netflix announced and debuted the trailer for “Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of The Boy Scouts of America,” a documentary directed by Brian Knappenberger that investigates how the Boy Scouts of America attempted to cover up one of history’s most horrific child sexual abuse scandals.
“This documentary reveals the harrowing decades of sexual abuse that occurred in the Boy Scouts of America,” said Michael Johnson, the former Youth Protection Director of the Boy Scouts of America. “Providing an unseen look behind the curtain of the national Boy Scout of America headquarters and the key decision-making process of the Boy Scouts of America General Counsel. This documentary would not be possible without the survivors who have courageously used their voices and shared their experience of abuse.”
Soon after the Boy Scouts of America were founded in 1908, leadership within the program began to realize there was a problem – troop leaders were sexually abusing children. As the sexual abuse within the program continued over decades, the Boy Scouts of America went to extensive lengths to silence child victims and their families to conceal the problems across Boy Scouts of America’s many youth programs. In response to this development, the Boy Scouts of America created the Perversion Files, which were their own internally classified confidential documents detailing reports of abuse that occurred within the program. The Boy Scouts of America went to great lengths to keep the Perversion Files from scrutiny and counter-messaged that the files were for screening out sex offenders. The Boy Scouts of America’s decades-long efforts failed. In the wake of hundreds of lawsuits, the Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in February 2020, which revealed that over 82,000 former Boy Scouts of America participants were abused in the program.
On October 12, 2021, Jeff Anderson & Associates held a press conference with Michael Johnson, and informed the public that Boy Scouts of America is still high-risk for children and wrote a letter to Congress urging them to intervene.
“Scouts Honor is important. It finally tells the real story of decades of sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts of America. There continues to be no accountability of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) executive leadership and the many church organizations and officials who knew of sex offenders, the sexual abuse of children, and the significant ongoing high-risk BSA programs expose children to. True justice and accountability cannot be served until BSA is forced to turn over the “original” files and an independent investigation occurs,” said Michael Johnson.
For additional resources for survivors of abuse, the public and concerned citizens should visit Survivor Space, or 1in6.
To speak with the former Youth Protection Director, Michael Johnson, or a Boy Scouts of America Abuse specialist, please contact media@andersonadvocates.com