Media outlets all over the country have been reporting on the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) so called "Perversion Files" – lists of men banned from volunteering with the organization due to allegations of inappropriate behavior which, in most cases involved molesting boys.

The files, which cover the years from 1965 to 1985, list thousands of men, many of whom were never charged with any crime because the BSA kept the records private and never reported the incidents.

The files were released after a lawsuit in Oregon (Lewis vs. Boy Scouts of America, Case No. 0710-11294) resulted in a court order demanding the records be made public.

Of the thousands listed, there are three cases listed in the Spring-Ford area.  

The Los Angeles Times database listing these cases was only able to identify persons on the list by name if there was documentation in the released Boy Scouts files. 

Two of the three cases concern Troop 231 in Royersford. The files were created in 2002 but there is no accompanying documentation. 

The third case involves a Phoenixville resident named Lawrence Wakely and Troop 105 in Spring City. That documentation was created in 1971, after Wakely was convicted of the rape of two teenage girls and sent to Graterford Prison. 

According to the file, Wakely was a registered member of Troop 105 in the late 1950s when he was a teenager. Letters in the file state that Wakely would be placed on the so-called "confidential list" in case he tried to join Scouts again in the future. 

[Editor's note: As of June 2012, Wakely was incarcerated in Huntingdon County Prison following convictions in 1991 for kidnapping, assault and other charges.]

You can download the complete BSA files on Wakely in our PDF section and see the full list of ineligible volunteers here.