Attorney Jeff Anderson on Monday returned approximately 50,000 pages of Boy Scouts of America files that document alleged child abuse by more than 1,500 offenders.

Standing in front of his downtown St. Paul office, Anderson returned the sealed documents to Ramsey County “in protest,” saying that by not making the Boy Scouts offenders’ names public it was providing them with protection.

Anderson recently brought a motion to Ramsey County requesting permission to release the files to the public, naming the more than 1,500 alleged abusers from 46 states, including 19 from Minnesota.

But Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro said in an order issued last week that the district court lacks jurisdiction to grant Anderson’s request, and further that Anderson lacked legal standing to ask it.

The files in question, in which names of alleged victims have been redacted, cover the years 1998 to 2008 and were introduced in a civil case involving a client Anderson represented years ago who was identified in court documents identified as John Doe 180.

Anderson said Monday that he was not deterred by the requirement to return the documents.

He said he has already brought suits against the Boy Scouts in New York and New Jersey, adding that he is doing so to “stop hiding the predators.”

In a statement, the Boy Scouts of America said:

“We care deeply about all victims of child abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is committed first and foremost to keeping children safe, and it is our policy that all incidents of suspected abuse are reported to law enforcement. The policies that the BSA has in place today are informed and endorsed by child safety experts who also emphasize the need to protect victims’ privacy, which would have been breached with the release of these files.”