Former California city official molested underage relative, prosecutors say, gets 18 years in jail
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A former Bay Area city council member was sentenced to 18 years in prison Friday for molesting an underage family member more than two decades ago, prosecutors said.
Omar Torres, who served on the San Jose City Council from 2023 until he was charged in 2024, pleaded no contest in April to charges of forcible sodomy, forcible oral copulation and molestation of a child under 14, the Santa Clara district attorney’s office said in a statement.
He assaulted the child for years beginning in the late 1990s, only stopping because he was afraid he’d get caught, according to prosecutors.
San Jose City Councilmember Omar Torres was charged with multiple felony sexual acts against a family member beginning in the late 1990s when the victim was a child. He was arrested on Tuesday and agreed to resign at the end of the month.
Torres, 43, was already under investigation for alleged sexual abuse of a minor when the family member came forward.
During that initial investigation, a police affidavit alleged Torres was being extorted for tens of thousands of dollars by a 21-year-old Chicago man who threatened to share nude photos and other incriminating messages that Torres had sent if Torres didn’t pay, the San José Spotlight reported in October.
No charges have been filed as a result of that investigation, the district attorney’s office confirmed.
“Today’s sentence holds Omar Torres accountable for perpetrating horrendous crimes against a child,” Dist. Atty. Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “This sentence sends a strong message that no one is above the law, and it is never too late for justice. We admire the victim’s courage to come forward to report the abuse he suffered.”
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