NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 12, 2026) — The City of New Rochelle denied a Freedom of Information Law request concerning sexual assault allegations against City Council Member Shane Osinloye on April 29, 2024, relying in part on an exemption for an open law enforcement investigation, four days after a New Rochelle police investigator documented closing the case.
Records obtained by Talk of the Sound in July 2026 show that New Rochelle Police Department Investigator B.J. Fagan closed Case #24-000929 on April 25, 2024, because Osinloye had declined to pursue the matter. Nevertheless, the city subsequently reiterated an earlier FOIL denial that cited the potential for disclosure to interfere with an open investigation.
The records concern an anonymous letter circulated to New Rochelle officials in March 2024 alleging that Osinloye had sexually assaulted three women. The allegations prompted an NRPD investigation and a separate review by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
On April 18, 2024, Talk of the Sound submitted a FOIL request seeking the anonymous letter, communications about the allegations involving the Police Department and other related public records.
On April 23, City Clerk Michelle Oliveros denied the request on behalf of the city and NRPD, citing three exemptions under the state’s Freedom of Information Law: personal privacy, interference with an open law enforcement investigation and potential danger to individuals.
The letter specifically cited Public Officers Law §87(2)(e)(i), stating that disclosure of the records “would interfere with law enforcement’s open investigation.”
Two days later, on April 25, Fagan documented his decision to close the police investigation.
“Based on the fact that Council Member Osinloye does not pursue the matter I am closing the investigation pending further developments,” Fagan wrote in his supplemental report.
Fagan also noted that the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office had been informed of the allegations and was looking into them.
On April 26, with the NRPD investigation now closed, Talk of the Sound submitted another FOIL request seeking communications involving City Council members and law enforcement agencies. The request covered city email accounts, personal email accounts and text messages.
In an April 29 response, Oliveros again denied access to the requested records, expressly incorporating the grounds cited in the April 23 denial.
“For the reasons stated in the attached letter, your request is again denied,” the city wrote.
The April 29 denial also cited a separate exemption for certain intra-agency records.
The timing raises a question about the city’s continued reliance on the open-investigation exemption after NRPD’s investigator had documented closing the case. The April 29 letter did not specifically state that the NRPD investigation remained open, but it incorporated the earlier denial, including its open-investigation justification.
The police records contain an additional distinction. Although Fagan’s April 25 narrative expressly states that he was closing the investigation, a supplemental report printed in July 2026 lists the case management status as “CLOSED” while a separate case status field reads “INVESTIGATION PENDING.”
The records do not establish whether officials responsible for the April 29 FOIL denial knew that Fagan had closed the NRPD investigation or whether they were relying on the separate District Attorney’s Office review.
Information subsequently provided by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that its investigators interviewed the three women referenced in the anonymous letter before closing the review in August 2024. Talk of the Sound reported those findings on Aug. 17, 2026.
The question remains why the city continued invoking its April 23 open-investigation justification on April 29, four days after its own investigator had documented closing the police case.
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