A San José police officer is facing felony charges of sexual assault against a minor stemming from more than a decade ago, when he served as a facilitator in a county program aimed at supporting parents of troubled teens.
Officer Saul Duran was arrested Monday and booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail, before being released after posting $250,000 bail, officials said.
Police Chief Paul Joseph said Duran’s alleged actions violate the immense trust the public must place in police officers.
“No badge, no uniform, no title can shield you from answering for the crimes alleged and I will do everything in my power to ensure our ranks are free of anyone who breaks the law,” Joseph said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Joseph said two sisters contacted police in mid-June, who alleged they were sexually victimized by Duran when they were teenagers, between 2008 and 2012.
Investigators believe Duran met the two sisters, who were 14 and 15 years old at the time, when he was a facilitator with The Parent Project, a collaboration between the District Attorney’s Office, local law enforcement, schools and counseling agencies to support parents who are having difficulties with their children.
“He was perceived by their mother to be a positive influence for her family,” Joseph said. After gaining the family’s trust, he violated program policy by spending time with the sisters outside the program, with their mother’s knowledge, which is when the alleged misconduct occurred, Joseph said.
While Duran’s participation in the program was voluntary, he served in his “official capacity as a police officer,” Joseph noted.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said Duran is alleged to have assaulted both sisters at the time, but the extended statute of limitations allowed for charges based only on his actions against the younger sister.
Duran is charged with five counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child who is 14 or 15 years old, Rosen said.
Rosen noted the alleged conduct with the older sister, and some alleged conduct when the younger sister later turned 18, “will be very relevant for a jury to hear.”
Rosen said Duran was fired from The Parent Project based on complaints that he was spending time with women and girls involved with the program outside of its normal hours. None of the complaints described actions that were “criminal in nature,” Rosen said, “but in hindsight, were concerning.”
Both Rosen and Joseph encouraged anyone else with similar stories to the sisters to come forward to police, even if they were afraid to do so.
“Afraid because the offender was a police officer because too much time had passed, or because they believed he would be protected by his fellow officers,” Joseph said. “Our actions today will hopefully show that there is no protection for any officer who is alleged to have committed such a serious crime or who has caused harm.”
Rosen defended The Parent Project as an “extremely successful program,” and said nothing like this has been reported before, but said his office is now reevaluating “how we vet and train the teachers of the program to try to make sure that nothing like this happens again.”
Joseph said he ordered an “immediate review of all policies and procedures for all specific programs involving minors.”
Under requirements from a state law passed in 2021, the department also forwarded information about the sexual misconduct investigation to the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, known as the POST Commission. The information could later be used in a process to decertify Duran, which would prohibit him from working as a police officer in the state.
Duran, who was placed on administrative leave by the police department about a week before his arrest, is next scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 7.
“I want to thank both of these young women for their courage. Without them, we would all still be in the dark,” Rosen said. “We will get justice for them and protect this community.”
The police department said anyone who wants to share information about this case or similar experiences should contact Detective Sergeant Kilmer #3723 or Detective Sergeant Sanchez #4126 of the SJPD Internal Affairs, Criminal Investigations Detail by email at 3723@sanjoseca.gov and/or 4126@sanjoseca.gov, or 408-277-4082.
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