A Boston city councilor on Friday filed a proposed order demanding documents related to the revelation this week that fellow councilor and Suffolk district attorney candidate Ricardo Arroyo was twice investigated — though never charged — for possible sexual assault as a teenager.
Councilor Frank Baker’s order would require Mayor Michelle Wu to obtain and turn over to the council all relevant police reports, school safety reports, documents from the police Sexual Assault Unit, restraining or stay-away orders, victim statements, and communications between Boston Public Schools, police, the Arroyo family, and their representatives, according to a copy of the document obtained by the Globe.
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The order gives Wu a week to comply but requests a response within 48 hours. The next City Council meeting is Wednesday.
The Globe reported Tuesday that police reports show that Arroyo, 34, of Hyde Park, was investigated over possible sexual assaults when he was 18 and 19. Boston police and the district attorney’s office investigated both sets of claims, and closed each after several months without charges, officials said.
In a statement Friday night, Arroyo said that he had already requested the files from police, “with redactions to protect the privacy of the complainants, and I fully support this effort as well.”
“I have said that since the Globe informed me of their existence,” Arroyo said in the statement. “I know that the release of all the documents — including the ones that have been intentionally withheld by those who illegally leaked them — will confirm that the allegations were determined to be unfounded.”
Baker could not be reached for comment Friday night. Representatives for Wu, who has endorsed Arroyo, did not respond to an inquiry.
Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara said the issue should not be a factor in Arroyo holding office.
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“It’s absurd to believe that a closed matter that didn’t even lead to charges being filed is relevant to whether or not you’re fit to serve in elected office, especially since one of the main tenets of our country is innocent until proven guilty,” she said in an e-mail.
Arroyo told the Globe last week that he had “never sexually assaulted anyone” and said repeatedly he was never “made aware of either of these allegations.” A 2005 police report contradicts Arroyo’s claim that he never knew about either investigation.
At a news conference Wednesday in Jamaica Plain, Arroyo vowed to stay in the race.
“This campaign is going to continue,” Arroyo said. “We are going to continue to focus on making sure that we are running a campaign for justice.”
He was joined at the news conference by an attorney for one of his accusers, who read a statement from the woman saying Arroyo had never assaulted her, and that he was her friend. The Globe does not name victims of sexual assault without their consent. The accuser in the other case against Arroyo did not respond to previous requests for comment.
Arroyo on Wednesday accused his opponent in the race, current District Attorney Kevin Hayden, of a political smear campaign against him, and alleged Hayden leaked the documents to help tilt the Sept. 6 primary.
Hayden’s office, as well as Boston police officials, had confirmed that the incident numbers on the police reports obtained by the Globe were authentic, and provided details about when investigations were opened, referred to the DA, and closed. Both agencies declined to release full case files or details of either investigation, citing protections for sexual assault victims.
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James Borghesani, a spokesman for Hayden in the DA’s office, declined in a statement to respond to Arroyo’s charges, beyond calling them “a Trumpian attempt to deflect attention from serious allegations.”
Danny McDonald of the Globe staff contributed reporting.
Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeremycfox.