Mayor to release cop sex-abuse docs
Facing mounting calls for transparency, acting Mayor Kim Janey said Boston Police will release redacted documents from a 1995 investigation that concluded allegations of child molestation against disgraced exunion boss Patrick Rose.
Rose is accused of raping six children, but the past investigation did not trigger the officer’s removal from the force.
“I have asked that the review and redaction happen as quickly as possible so that the file can be released to the public,” Janey said in a statement Monday. “It is baffling that officer (sic) Rose was allowed to remain on the force for over two decades and ultimately led the patrolmen’s union.”
Rose was accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy more than two decades ago, but a criminal complaint against him was dropped after Rose allegedly pressured the boy to recant, as first reported by The Boston Globe this weekend. Despite an internal investigation that concluded Rose likely committed the crimes, he was allowed to stay on the force and it’s unclear what — if any — disciplinary action was taken.
Rose, a longtime former cop, would later rise to lead the city’s powerful patrolmen’s union that represents more than 1,500 uniformed officers. He held that job for three years.
Boston Police referred questions to the mayor’s office.
The fallout has been swift as city councilors and members of the federal delegation alike have decried the department’s inaction. They are demanding answers as the police department finds itself embroiled in another scandal and in an era when police are already under increasing scrutiny nationally for a perceived lack of accountability.
Boston city councilors have called for a full independent review of the circumstances and denounced the department’s “appalling and horrific” actions in a Sunday statement signed by all 12 members.
“The Boston City Council is demanding a thorough accounting of how the Rose case was handled when allegations were initially raised twenty five years ago,” the statement reads, noting they plan to use “every tool available” to lend transparency to the situation.
In a news conference in front of city hall on Monday, Councilor Andrea Campbell called on Janey to “immediately” release the documents.
“Every minute of delay further erodes the public trust and denies victims justice,” said Campbell, who is running against Janey in the upcoming mayoral election.
Campbell, who heads the council’s committee on public safety and criminal justice, said she planned to file a subpoena on the documents from the 1995 investigation into Rose and any subsequent punishment.
Other mayoral candidates including councilors Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George who are also in the running for mayor also called for the release of the documents.
John Barros, another candidate and the city’s former economic development chief, called on the administration to release the documents “in a way that protects the identities of the victims.”
Rep. John Santiago, who is also running, joined the call as well.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley called the Rose case “the latest example of the desperate need for greater transparency, increased oversight and a fundamental change in culture.” She, too, demanded the release of internal documents and called for a third-party review.