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Arroyo releases part of sexual assault file, says they show 'no crime was committed'

Boston City Councilor and Suffolk District Attorney candidate Ricardo Arroyo says newly released documents about a 2005 sexual assault case against him show that investigators closed the case because "there was no crime committed."

The campaign released four pages from the file, which a Suffolk Superior judge ordered released to Arroyo Friday at his request. A campaign spokesperson wouldn't say how many pages the full file contained, and said they were still reviewing the documents to determine whether to release more material.

The documents show that three months after the case was first opened in November 2005, a Suffolk assistant district attorney sent an email closing out the investigation.

Tara Burdman wrote that she had spoken to the alleged victim and told her "that based on the assessment of the information we had, there was no crime committed."
That victim has said that she stands by her allegations.

Arroyo's rival, District Attorney Kevin Hayden, said in a statement released by his office Friday that nothing in the file indicates the allegations were unfounded. The pages released by Arroyo, however, show that the sexual assault unit issued a final disposition of "unfounded" in July 2006.

"Nothing in the file questions the validity of the victim’s statements," the Hayden statement said. "The campaign to sabotage this victim’s credibility is shameful.”

Arroyo, in his statement, fired back at Hayden.

"This document clearly shows that Kevin Hayden’s comments today about the case file were lies," the Arroyo statement said. "His review and comments on the file were also likely illegal and unethical."

The alleged victim in a second case, from 2007, has said that Arroyo did not sexually assault her. Arroyo denies he was ever informed of either investigation at the time and denies the allegations.

"Along with the public statement from the woman in the 2007 issue that Ricardo never assaulted her, this new information confirms what Ricardo Arroyo has been saying all along — he has never sexually assaulted anyone," the campaign said in a statement.

Arroyo and Hayden are the sole candidates on the Democratic primary ballot in Tuesday's election.

Correction: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect photo. 

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Ally Jarmanning Senior Reporter
Ally is a senior reporter focused on criminal justice and police accountability.

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