Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/455017
ByGillianFlaccus The Associated Press LOS ANGELES The Boy Scouts of America settled a sex abuse case Thursday in- volving a 20-year-old Cali- fornia man who was mo- lested by a Scout volunteer in 2007 — a decision that will keep years' worth of "perversion" files detailing sex abuse allegations secret from the public. The announcement of the settlement in the Santa Bar- bara case came after three days of trial. The terms were confidential at the Boy Scouts' request, said Tim Hale, the plaintiff's attorney. "I can't go into details about the number, but it was a great result," Hale said. Hale had won the right to use the "perversion" files as trial evidence to try to show the Boys Scouts were negli- gent by not properly train- ing, educating and warning parents, Scouts and volun- teers about the dangers of sexual abuse. He told jurors in his opening statement that they would receive a CD with 100,000 pages of in- ternal documents from 1971 to 2007 during their delib- erations. Many of the files have not been seen outside the Scouts. Hale said Thursday that the settlement will keep the files from being made pub- lic. Past settlements in sim- ilar cases in Texas and Min- nesota also kept them secret. The plaintiff's attorneys had been planning to use up to 100 "egregious" files next week while cross-ex- amining witnesses and elic- iting testimony from ex- perts, Hale said. Two files were discussed in open court in the first three days of trial, he added. The plaintiff's law firm has the remaining files but they are sealed by a judge's protective order and can't be made public or shared with other attorneys. In an emailed state- ment, the Boy Scouts said the Scouts were "safer be- cause those files exist" and said in 2012 the Boy Scouts of America National Coun- cil reviewed all the files from 1965 to the present and reported to authorities any files that did not clearly indicate a prior report had been made to police. "While we can't com- ment on the specifics re- lated to this matter, even a single instance of child vic- timization or abuse is intol- erable and unacceptable," it said. "We regret there have been times when the BSA's best efforts to protect chil- dren were insufficient, and for that we extend our deep- est apologies to victims and their families." Smith did not immedi- ately respond to an email seeking further comment. Files that the Boy Scouts of America kept between 1960 and 1991 already have been made public through other civil cases. The release of the more recent files — from 1991 to 2007 — could have revealed how much the Scouts im- proved their efforts to pro- tect children and report abuse after several high- profile cases and the imple- mentation of a youth pro- tection policy in the late 1980s. Previous large ver- dicts against the Scouts fo- cused on cases where al- leged abuse occurred before the policy was put in place. In 2012, the Oregon Su- preme Court ordered the Scouts to make public a trove of files from 1965 to 1985. The records showed that more than one-third of abuse allegations never were reported to police and that even when authorities were told, little was done most of the time. Those documents came to light after a jury in 2010 imposed a nearly $20 mil- lion penalty against the Scouts in a molestation case in Portland, Oregon, that dated to the early 1980s. The California case al- leged that a volunteer named Al Stein, now 37, pulled down the plaintiff's pants when he was 13 and fondled him while the two worked in a Christmas tree lot. SANTA BARBARA CASE Bo y Sc ou ts s et tl e la ws ui t over sex abuse in 2007 By Alicia Chang The Associated Press LOS ANGELES With Cal- ifornia gripped by a mea- sles outbreak, Dr. Charles Goodman posted a clear notice in his waiting room and on Facebook: His prac- tice will no longer see chil- dren whose parents won't get them vaccinated. "Parents who choose not to give measles shots, they're not just putting their kids at risk, but they're also putting other kids at risk — especially kids in my waiting room," the Los Angeles pediatri- cian said. It's a sentiment echoed by a small number of doctors who in recent years have "fired" patients who con- tinue to believe debunked research linking vaccines to autism. They hope the strategy will lead parents to change their minds; if that fails, they hope it will at least reduce the risk to other children in the office. The tough-love approach — which comes amid the nation's second-biggest measles outbreak in at least 15 years, with at least 98 cases reported since last month — raises questions about doctors' ethical re- sponsibilities. Most of the measles cases have been traced directly or indirectly to Disneyland in Southern California. The American Academy of Pediatrics says doctors should bring up the im- portance of vaccinations during visits but should respect a parent's wishes unless there's a significant risk to the child. "In general, pediatri- cians should avoid dis- charging patients from their practices solely be- cause a parent refuses to immunize his or her child," according to guidelines is- sued by the group. However, if the relation- ship between patient and doctor becomes unwork- able, the pediatrics acad- emy says, the doctor may want to encourage the vac- cine refuser to go to an- other physician. Some mothers who have been dropped by their doc- tors feel "betrayed and up- set," said Dotty Hagm- ier, founder of the support group Moms in Charge. She said these parents made up their minds about vaccines after "careful research and diligence to understand the risks versus the benefits for their own children's cir- cumstances." Dropping patients who refuse vaccines has become a hot topic of discussion on SERMO, an online doctor hangout. Some doctors are adamant about not accept- ing patients who don't be- lieve in vaccinations, with some saying they don't want to be responsible for someone's death from an illness that was prevent- able. Others warn that refus- ing treatment to such peo- ple will just send them into the arms of quacks. The measles-mumps-ru- bella vaccine, or MMR, is 97 percent effective at pre- venting measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles spreads easily through the air and in en- closed spaces. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, cough and a rash all over the body. All states require chil- dren to get certain vacci- nations to enroll in school. California is among 20 states that let parents opt out by obtaining personal belief waivers. Some people worry that vaccines cause developmental problems, despite scientific evidence disproving any link. Others object for religious or phil- osophical reasons. Nationally, childhood measles vaccination rates have held steady for years at above 90 percent. But there seem to be growing pockets of unvaccinated people in scattered com- munities, said Dr. Gregory Wallace of the CDC. In recent years, nearly all U.S. measles cases have been linked to trav- elers who caught the vi- rus abroad and spread it in this country among un- vaccinated people. Northern California's Marin County has a high rate of people claiming personal belief exemp- tions. In 2012, Dr. Nelson Branco and his partners at a Marin County prac- tice started turning away toddlers whose parents re- fused to make sure they re- ceived the measles vaccine. MEASLES OUTBREAK Some doctors won't see patients with anti-vaccination views DAMIANDOVARGANES—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Pediatrician Charles Goodman, le , explains to Frank Fierro, the father of 1year-old Cameron Fierro, the need of getting the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, or MMR vaccine at his practice in Northridge on Thursday. The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco police found a dismembered body when they opened a suitcase abandoned on a downtown street and then made an- other gruesome discovery when they uncovered more body parts nearby. Police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandan said Thursday that it's unclear if all the remains belong to one person. She says inves- tigators have a rough de- scription of a suspect but aren't releasing additional details. 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