Washington ? Decades of files that the Boy Scouts of America compiled on sexual abuse allegations can be used in a lawsuit claiming the organization was ineffective at preventing abuse, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

About 1,000 files, with names redacted, have been given to the attorneys for three men who say their scoutmaster abused them from 1971 to 1983 when they were Boy Scouts. The files are sealed by court order for now but could be made public at trial, plaintiff’s attorney Tim Kosnoff said.

The files include court records and news accounts, as well as rumors and tips from parents and others. Names of accusers, their parents and the alleged perpetrators were removed.

The Boy Scouts has kept such files since the group’s inception in 1910 but destroyed records when alleged perpetrators either turned 75 or died, plaintiff’s attorney Mark Honeywell said.