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An array of US local authorities – police chiefs, prosecutors, pastors and town Boy Scout leaders among them – quietly shielded scoutmasters and others who allegedly molested children, according to a newly opened trove of confidential files compiled from 1959 to 1985.

At the time, those authorities justified their actions as necessary to protect the good name and good works of scouting. But as detailed in 14,500 pages of secret “perversion files” released on Thursday by order of the Oregon Supreme Court, their maneuvers protected suspected sexual predators while victims suffered in silence.

The files document sex abuse allegations across the country, from a small town in the Adirondacks to downtown Los Angeles.

Gosh, protect the “good name” in the short term (and probably for most of the life of the offenders) and drag the whole organization down in shame when the secrets come out. Sound familiar?