Ex-San Jose city councilman Omar Torres remains in jail with no bail
The disgraced politician has been held in custody without bail ever since his arrest on November 5, 2024. A judge previously ruled that Torres remains a danger to minors.
A police affidavit obtained by KRON4 contains text messages from Torres in which he says he had oral sex with a 17-year-old. The texts were exchanged with a 21-year-old Chicago man, Terry Beeks, who Torres had an online sexual relationship with, the affidavit said.
While he was serving as a city councilman, Torres allegedly asked Beeks about 'finding minors,' Beeks told police. On April 8, 2022, the two men texted about plans to meet for a sexual encounter with multiple people. According to the affidavit, the ex-councilman wrote, 'U got any homies under 18. I want hella homies u will see i'm wild in bed.'
His defense attorney told KRON4 in October that the texts were 'outrageous fantasy and role play,' and 'do not reflect any real-world actions or intentions.'
Charges filed against Torres stem from incidents that occurred between 1990 and 1999, when he allegedly raped a minor victim. In a recorded conversation between Torres and the victim, Torres admitted to sexually assaulting the victim 20 to 25 times, investigators said.
The incidents began when the victim was just 4 years old, a police report states, and continued until 1999, when Torres was 18 and the victim was 13.
Defense attorney Nelson McElmurry said a plea deal is possible to resolve the charges. 'He wants to accept responsibility (and) do the right thing. We just want to make sure the plea agreement is fair and consistent with charges of this type.'
The San Jose Police Department is still investigating to find out if the ex-councilman committed crimes in connection to the 2022 Beeks communications.
Torres represented District 3 until he resigned in November. This week, the City Council chose Carl Salas to fill the vacant seat for District 3. Salas will hold the seat until a special election is held in June.
If convicted, Torres is facing a maximum sentence of 24 years in prison.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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