Disgraced former San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres is pleading not guilty to child molestation charges as attempts to reach a settlement appear to have failed.
Torres entered the plea at the main county courthouse Monday morning after his decision dragged out for months. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Cynthia A. Sevely set a preliminary hearing for April 28.
The former District 3 leader, who resigned from the San Jose City Council and was arrested on Election Day, faces a maximum 24 years in jail for three felony counts of child molestation, including sodomy. Explosive police filings in two separate investigations revealed Torres admitted to molesting an underage relative in the 1990s and more recently sent lewd texts about minors and asked for people under the age of 18 for sex.
Torres’ current charges are related to his relative. The probe involving Torres’ more recent text messages about minors has not yet led to criminal charges. But it has prevented Torres’ pretrial release over concerns he’s still a threat to the community. Torres has been in jail without bail since his arrest.
It comes nearly four months after San Jose police first detained and interrogated Torres — and confiscated his devices — in an investigation tied to the lewd texts. Torres was in a sexual relationship with a man in Chicago who later extorted the councilmember over their messages. Torres sought help from the police, but his decision later backfired when police found his messages about minors.
Torres maintained his innocence after the investigation went public in October 2024 and sent shockwaves through political circles. He claimed he was the victim of political retaliation, with supporters rushing to his defense. But that support crumbled after police released transcripts of the messages.
Torres then faced calls to resign from both former political allies and the entire city council. Torres refused — attempting to hold onto his position while dodging all public appearances. It sparked weeks of employee unease and scrutiny over what Torres’ colleagues did or didn’t know about his behavior. It also prompted a recall initiative that ended when Torres was arrested.
Last updated March 3 at 10:56 a.m. Original story published March 3 at 9:36 a.m.
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
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