Former San José Council Member Pleads No Contest to Child Sexual Abuse

Former San José City Councilmember Omar Torres pleaded no contest on Tuesday to three child sexual abuse charges stemming from when he was a young man, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said.

The plea, entered at the Hall of Justice in San José, comes about five months after Torres resigned from the council on election day and was arrested. Torres was charged and convicted of sodomy, oral copulation and lewd and lascivious acts on a minor under the age of 14.

He was accused of abusing a relative for years, starting when Torres was also a minor and continuing after he turned 18 in 1999.

“It is heartbreaking that someone elected to represent and serve thousands of San Jose residents had previously molested a small child,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement on Tuesday. “Children are vulnerable and precious, and my office will do everything in our legal power to fight for their safety and fully prosecute those who hurt them.”

While Torres was in court on Tuesday, polls were open in San José for a special election to fill the District 3 seat on the City Council that Torres vacated when he resigned. The race is headed to a June 24 runoff.

The council appointed businessman Carl Salas in January to hold the seat until a new council member is elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff between the top two finishers will be held on June 24.

The results of the election could shape the balance of power on the governing body and influence the future of Mayor Matt Mahan’s policy agenda.

Nelson McElmurry, Torres’ attorney, wasn’t immediately available for comment on Tuesday afternoon.

The victim in the case came forward in November after reports surfaced last fall of a separate police investigation into Torres over allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. No charges have been filed from the earlier investigation.

Police recorded a phone call from the relative to Torres in early November, during which investigators said Torres admitted to the crimes.

“From the bottom of my heart, I’m so sorry that I hurt you,” Torres said to the victim during the call, according to the police report. “I’m in intense therapy right now to, you know, to work on myself, and I haven’t stopped thinking about the harm that I caused you.”

Torres faces up to a maximum of 24 years in prison, though a county judge will have the final decision at a sentencing later this year. Torres will also be required to register as a sex offender.