Boy Scouts settle California suit over abuse

LOS ANGELES -- The Boy Scouts of America have agreed to settle a lawsuit by a 20-year-old California man who was molested by a Scout volunteer in 2007.

The settlement reached Thursday in the Santa Barbara case came after three days of trial. The Boy Scouts say the terms are confidential.

It's unclear what the settlement means for the public's access to years of so-called "perversion" files kept by the organization that detail sex abuse allegations.

Settlements in past cases in Texas and Minnesota have kept the files sealed.

Plaintiff attorneys won the right to introduce those files as evidence to build a case that the Boy Scouts were negligent by not properly educating about the dangers of sexual abuse.

The files in question included 16 years' worth of documents never seen before.