A former scoutmaster in North Carolina admits he molested as many as 10 boys in the early 1970s.

The file on Thomas J. Menghi Jr. is just one among thousands of pages on suspected abusers kept by the Boy Scouts of America and released under a recent court order.

He tells The Associated Press he was usually drunk when he had sex with boys in Troop 786 in Fayetteville.

He’s now 69 years old and lives in Monroe, near Charlotte. He says he would like to apologize to his victims and fears going to jail.

Memos in Menghi’s file from 1974 show other scout leaders contemplated whether to report the abuse to the police, but were directed not to by a national official.

There were 2 cases of reported abuse in North Platte and 43 statewide. Not all cases had documentation available including the 2 here in North Platte. The following Nebraska cases contain actual documentation.

1960 Griffin, Raymond G. Omaha Nebraska Troop 313
1960 Griffin, Raymond G. Omaha Nebraska Troop 98
1962 Linder, Alva D. Plattsmouth Nebraska Troop 366
1962 Linder, Alva D. Plattsmouth Nebraska Troop 369
1965 Hauswirth, Norman E. Omaha Nebraska Troop 405
1969 Kalasky, James E. Omaha Nebraska Troop 352 
1971 Latham, Richard William Offutt AFB Nebraska Troop 452