Boy Scouts Lawyer Touts Child Protection System Currently in Place

An attorney defending the Boy Scouts against a sex abuse lawsuit in California says the organization acknowledges mistakes in the past but now has a robust child protection program in place.

Lawyer Nicholas Heldt said Monday in his opening statement that from 2003 to 2007, only 27 adult volunteers were kicked out annually for sexually abusing Scouts, although there were 1.5 million volunteers nationally.

The statement came in a lawsuit by a 20-year-old man who is seeking punitive damages against the Scouts after being molested by a volunteer in 2007.

His attorney, Tim Hale, told a jury in Santa Barbara that the Scouts didn’t provide enough education to prevent abuse.

Superior Court Judge Donna Geck has ruled that years of sealed files containing allegations of sexual misconduct can be used as evidence at the trial.