Former SJ Councilmember Omar Torres sexually assaulted young cousin 2025 times: police
Nov 06, 2024
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- Another accuser has come forward against embattled San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres. According to the San Jose Police Department, Torres’ cousin came forward on Monday, claiming to have been sexually abused by Torres as a minor.
This is an accusation made separately from the ongoing investigation into allegations that Torres had abused a 17-year-old. Torres was arrested on Tuesday and submitted his resignation to the San Jose City Council.
SJPD said that based on the alleged victim’s testimony and new physical evidence, investigators were able to obtain a warrant for Torres’ arrest on Tuesday. He was in court Wednesday, and he was charged with three felony counts of child molestation. He faces a maximum of 24 years in prison.
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KRON4 obtained a police report that includes a recorded conversation between Torres and the victim. A number of alleged assaults occurred when both were minors and continued after Torres became an adult and the accuser was still a minor. An investigation led to evidence corroborating the survivor's allegations.
Torres is being accused of lewd acts with a child, oral copulation of a minor, and sodomy of a child. Police also say the original investigation into Torres’ conduct is still ongoing.
The police report said that Torres raped the victim repeatedly between 1990 and 1999. In the recorded conversation between Torres, the victim, and another person, Torres admitted to sexually assaulting the victim 20-25 times.
The assaults started while the victim lived in El Paso, Tex. and continued when the family moved to Cupertino, per the police report. Torres began touching the victim when the victim was just 4 years old and later moved to more extreme assaults and rape “on almost a regular basis,” documents said.
The last assault happened between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 1999, when Torres was 18 and the victim was 13.
Torres called himself “a sick person” in the conversation and said that he was also abused as a minor, which led to him committing the assaults. He called the victim in 2008 to ask for forgiveness, per the report.
The court documents went into gruesome detail describing the sexual assaults, and KRON4 has opted to withhold those details.
Torres has so far maintained his innocence and claimed that he is the victim of an extortion attempt. Following his arrest on Tuesday, Torres submitted his resignation from the city council.
Mayor Matt Mahan said the city will move as swiftly as possible to replace him.
The charter provides two options, which can be combined. These options include appointing a temporary replacement to complete his term and holding special election with the option of doing an appointment before a special election.
This issue could go before voters early next year.