Former San Jose City Councilmember Omar Torres was arraigned Thursday on three felony counts accusing him of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy in 1999, when Torres was 18, nearly a quarter century ago.
The charges are sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace and fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury; oral copulation under the same circumstances; and a lewd or lascivious act on a child by force, violence, duress, menace and fear. Prosecutors said the crimes were committed "as a result of sexual compulsion and for the purposes of sexual gratification."
The felony complaint limits the alleged conduct to a one-month window, from Nov. 25 to Dec. 25, 1999. Prosecutors asked that Torres be ineligible for probation or a suspended sentence if he is convicted of any of the counts. Under the law, a conviction on any of the three would require him to register as a sex offender.
An hour before the court appearance, San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph held a press conference. He said Torres was arrested Tuesday afternoon, one day after a man contacted police to say Torres had sexually assaulted him over a period of several years when he was a child. According to Joseph, the man said the alleged abuse "started when both the survivor and Torres were minors and continued after Torres became an adult and while this survivor was still a minor."
Joseph said the new case is unrelated to a separate investigation into Torres' online communications with a Chicago man, which began in 2022. Torres had admitted to police that he engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with that man about sex with young boys. That investigation is continuing, the chief said.
Torres' resignation letter reached City Hall at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, after he was already in the county Main Jail, where he is being held without bail. In the letter, obtained by San Jose Inside, he did not mention an impending arrest or the month of turmoil that followed his admission to police. It was his first public comment since Oct. 2. "This choice comes with a heavy heart, but I believe it is in the best interest of my constituents and my community," he wrote. Mayor Matt Mahan said resigning was Torres' last decision before being arrested.
Joseph urged anyone else who may have been victimized to come forward. "Additional survivors are always possible—and we have a responsibility to pursue those possibilities and reassure those who come forward that they will be supported," he said. He added that it is "never too late to come forward."
Mahan called the allegations "every parent's worst nightmare" and said they are among the most serious imaginable. He said Torres' District 3 seat will officially become vacant on Nov. 27. At an upcoming meeting, the council will decide whether to appoint a replacement to serve until the term ends in 2026, or to name a temporary member who would serve only until a special election is held. Mahan said he prefers letting District 3 voters choose the successor as soon as possible, and that the earliest a new council member could be seated is early next year.
"I know this is a shock to all of us. We're devastated and disgusted by these allegations and I know that San Jose deserves better—so do our children, and our families," the mayor said. He expressed hope that the resignation and arrest would let the city move on and refocus on ending unsheltered homelessness, making neighborhoods safer and cleaner, and creating opportunities for every family.
