Former San José Councilmember Omar Torres Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison

Former San José City Councilmember Omar Torres has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was convicted earlier this year of sexually assaulting his teenage relative more than 20 years ago.

Torres, who served as the District 3 council member for San José’s downtown and northside neighborhoods from 2023 through most of 2024, was charged in November with sodomy, oral copulation and lewd and lascivious acts on a minor under the age of 14.

He resigned from the council and was arrested on Nov. 5, 2024, election day, and pleaded no contest to the charges in April.

“Today’s sentence holds Omar Torres accountable for perpetrating horrendous crimes against a child,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement on Friday. “This sentence sends a strong message that no one is above the law, and it is never too late for justice. We admire the victim’s courage to come forward to report the abuse he suffered.”

The district attorney’s office also said Torres will need to register as a sex offender for life.

He was accused of abusing his relative for years, starting when Torres and his victim were both minors, and continuing after Torres turned 18 in 1999.

The district attorney’s office, in a statement, said Torres only stopped the abuse when he “became concerned he would be caught.”

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

The victim in the case came forward in November after reports surfaced of a separate police investigation into Torres over allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. No charges were filed from that 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.”

Following Torres’ resignation, the San José City Council appointed businessman Carl Salas to hold the District 3 seat while a special election was held. Former Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos won the seat in a late June runoff.

This story will be updated.