Secret sex offender files released - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

MADISON (WKOW) -- More than 14,000 formerly-secret Boy Scout documents on men suspected of child sex abuse are now public.

27 of the cases were reported in Wisconsin.

The so-called "perversion files", covering 1965 to 1985, were released with the approval of the Oregon Supreme Court after a case against the Boy Scouts where a scoutmaster sexually abused a scout.

Lawyers who wanted the information released say the files protected child molesters.

"What we want as the takeaway from this is that organizations understand how pedophiles operate, how child molesters infiltrate organizations. There are a lot of myths out there and unfortunately we know the lessons still have to be learned," said lead plaintiff attorney Paul Mones.

The Boy Scouts of America released a statement apologizing to victims and their families for instances where scoutmasters failed to protect or inflicted harm on children.