San Jose councilman Omar Torres denied bail in harassment case

SAN JOSE, California. – Infamous San Jose Councilman Omar Torres He will remain behind bars while awaiting trial on child sexual abuse charges.

A judge denied Torres’ bail request on Thursday.

The District 3 councilman was arrested on election night and faces three counts of sodomy and oral copulation with a child, stemming from crimes allegedly committed a quarter-century ago, authorities said.

An adult survivor recently came forward after seeing media coverage of Torres’ ongoing investigation into alleged child sexual abuse. These separate allegations of child sexual abuse did not lead to criminal charges.

The police report in the child molestation case detailed a phone conversation between Torres, his victim, and the victim’s wife. At one point, Torres said, “She was an easy target…I hurt her in so many ways (by raping her).” When asked how many times the crimes were committed, Torres said, “I’d say about 20-25 times….I’m just dealing with harassment and rape situations that happened to me. This is just as ugly as the voices…I’m so sorry man, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Investigators said the crimes began in 1990, when the victim was four and Torres was nine, and continued until the victim was 13 and Torres was 18.

Experts said the statute of limitations does not apply in this case due to the nature of the alleged crimes.

Following his arrest, Torres resigned from the city council. However, his seat will not remain vacant until November 27. Municipal officials said that all official powers and duties given to council members were taken away.

Plans to find his replacement take shape as former contenders for the seat show renewed interest in serving the area, which includes downtown, Japantown and the Hensley neighborhood, among others.

“I was very active, especially in downtown and other parts of the 3rd District, so my enthusiasm for improving San Jose has not waned,” former council candidate Elizabeth Chien-Hale said.

“We need someone who will be behind D3 100%. Because in the past, we’ve had people use D3 as a platform to get to the next job. And a lot of times D3 has been left behind,” added former council candidate Irene Smith. .

Smith called on the city council to hold a special election to fill Torres’ seat.

“The city charter gives us two options, a special election or an appointment. I personally prefer a special election. I think it’s fundamental to our American democracy.” Mayor Matt Mahan I said it before.

The mayor said the council will address the issue at its Nov. 19 meeting. Both options require a six-vote majority of nine members to be adopted.