San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres charged with sexual assault of minor
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres was arrested Tuesday night following a completely different case of sexual assault involving a minor.
He has been under investigation and absent from council meetings for a month, with calls for him to resign growing in recent weeks.
In a brown Santa Clara County Jail jumpsuit, Omar Torres was seen in public for the first time in a month.
Reporters could see only his hand, handcuffed and hiding behind a courtroom wall.
Torres now faces felony charges after being arrested Tuesday for lewd acts with a child, oral copulation of a minor and sodomy of a child.
RELATED: San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres resigns, arrested on sexual misconduct allegations
"These allegations are every parents' worst nightmare," San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said. "But you don't have to be a parent to be sickened by the charges against Omar Torres, which are some of the most serious, charges imaginable."
The charges stem from a practically overnight investigation after a relative of Torres contacted police Monday to say he was a survivor of sexual assault by the San Jose councilmember around 20 years ago.
This victim came forward as Torres was being investigated for sexual misconduct involving a minor in a different case.
In October, Torres went to police about an individual who was allegedly extorting him. Police then sought evidence that the relationship was inappropriate and illegal in nature.
A month later, the new developments landed Torres in jail.
A police report details a conversation in which Torres apologized for sodomizing his relative, who was just 13 years old at the time.
RELATED: Embattled SJ Councilmember Omar Torres requests leave of absence amid allegations
According to the police report, Torres said he was sodomized when he was seven or eight years old himself and blamed that experience for compelling him to become abusive.
"The alleged assaults started when both the survivor and Torres were minors and continued after Torres became an adult, but while the survivor was still a minor," San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said.
Torres' lawyer Nelson McEmurry told us Torres' arrest was surprising and said he's working through the evidence after his client's first court appearance Wednesday.
In the other sexual misconduct investigation, Torres denied wrongdoing and said sexually explicit messages about sexual acts with a minor were simply fantasy and role play.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Jay Boyarsky applauds the survivor for coming forward to help ensure Torres never hurts anyone ever again, even all these years later.
"The courthouse doors will not be slammed in their faces," Boyarsky said. "We can take their case to court in front of jurors and the facts of this particular case allow us to charge the case, not withstanding whatever statute of limitations would've been back at that time."
RELATED: SJ Councilmember Omar Torres responds to being served warrant for child sex misconduct
Before being arrested, Torres submitted his letter of resignation to the San Jose City Council as of November 27.
The community had started a recall effort and the City Council called on Torres to resign.
Until this week, he said he was not going to do so.
Mayor Matt Mahan says a new council representative for District 3 will be temporarily appointed or voted in by a special election.
He would like to see the community make the decision, but it ultimately comes down to a council vote.
Torres will make his next court appearance for a bail hearing on November 14 and will remain in custody until then. He faces 24 years in prison if convicted.
