The law office of Jeff Anderson, who represents victims of sexual abuse, revealed Tuesday that the Boy Scouts of America kept a filing system of volunteers suspected of misconduct with children since the 1940s.

According to Anderson, there are 7,819 perpetrators of childhood sexual abuse in the files, including 130 in New York – with one in the Bronx and seven in Brooklyn. 

The allegations came to light after the law office became aware of the Boy Scouts of America "ineligible volunteer files," which they say was a database of volunteers in the Scouts suspected of inappropriate behavior.

The Boy Scouts of America released a statement saying: "We mandate that all leaders, volunteers and staff members nationwide immediately report any abuse allegation to law enforcement."

They also “sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting."