U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh protected records that showed the Boston Police union knew about a top official’s history of child sexual abuse during his tenure as Boston mayor.
Patrick Rose, former president of Boston’s police union, pled guilty to 21 child rape and sexual assault counts on Monday. Walsh’s successor as mayor released records that showed the police conducted an internal investigation into Rose after he allegedly sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy.
After the Boston Globe requested records of a 1995 police department investigation into sexual assault allegations against Rose following his 2020 arrest for child rape, Walsh cited the victim’s identity as a reason for not releasing the records.
However, the records ultimately released by Walsh’s successor redacted the victim’s identity. The records showed the police department’s internal investigation concluded Rose likely sexually assaulted the young boy. The documents also revealed that the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association and the Boston police union advocated for Rose to be taken off desk duty following the 1995 investigation into his sexual assault.
Despite the investigation’s conclusion, Rose continued to work as an officer until his retirement in 2018. Rose even served as president of the police union from 2014 to 2017.
After Rose’s conviction, he was sentenced to 10-13 years in prison and ten years on probation.
In addition to Rose, Walsh also withheld information about domestic abuse allegations against former police commissioner Dennis White. The Washington Free Beacon reported that a Boston police officer swore in an affidavit that Walsh knew about the domestic abuse allegations against White when he appointed White to be the city’s police commissioner.
Walsh ultimately suspended White after the Boston Globe reported on the accusations against him. After suspending White, Walsh claimed to be unaware of the allegations against him.
Again, Walsh refused to release White’s alleged abuse records after the Boston Globe requested them. Walsh also reportedly delayed an investigation into White while the U.S. Senate considered his confirmation as Labor Secretary.