MONROE, N.C. (AP) -- A former scoutmaster in North Carolina admits he molested as many as 10 boys in the early 1970s.
Thomas J. Menghi Jr. was just one of thousands of former scout leaders named in secret files on suspected abusers kept by the Boy Scouts of America and released under a recent court order.
He tells The Associated Press that he was usually drunk when he had sex with boys in Troop 786 in Fayetteville.
Menghi went on to work for years at a church-run day care in Charlotte. The Rev. Rush Otey confirmed Friday that Thomas Menghi Jr. worked as the office manager at Selwyn Presbyterian Child Development Center from 2002 to 2011 and was routinely alone with young children. Parents at the daycare were shocked
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.