Tearful testimony from the victim of convicted child sex abuser Omar Torres moved Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Sevely to hand the former downtown San Jose council member an 18-year prison sentence on Friday.
The cousin of 43-year-old Torres, identified only as John Doe, said he was far from the only victim of his cousin’s reign of terror, as revelations of the disgraced councilmember’s crimes divided the family. One side believed Torres should be held accountable by the criminal justice system—and the other felt the politician’s life in public service and sobriety provided evidence of his resolve.
Despite the defense’s attempts to cast Torres as a child sex abuse victim who acted upon what he experienced in his childhood, the prosecution countered by pointing to Doe, who underwent trauma without abusing others.
A calm, head-shaved Torres sat next to his attorney, one-time Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors candidate Nelson McElmurry, as he delivered a somber apology with his face buried in the piece of paper he held.
“Fuck your forgiveness,” Doe said as he staggered out of the San Jose Hall of Justice courtroom during Torres’ final remarks before sentencing.
“You could call me a survivor. You could call me a victim. What I really am, is my own childhood hero to the little kid who suffered so much,” Doe told the court. “The kid inside me can finally start letting go—but not without letting everyone know about the monster who hid among us, among the community.”
An overweight man in his mid-30s who used a cane to walk because of injuries from a drunken brawl years ago, Doe said his life fell apart even before it started.
He described in graphic detail the abuse he endured from Torres between the ages of 4 and 13 years old—including dozens of rapes that only ceased after Torres turned 18 in 1999.
Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky said Torres’ conscious decision to end his abuse of Doe once he became an adult is evidence the former councilman’s appreciation of the legal consequences of his offenses as an adult.
Doe described his childhood and homelife as dealing with one family sexual abuse crisis after another. He told the court he hoped Torres would stop abusing him and apologize after an uncle was caught abusing another family member close to Torres—but he said his hopes were dashed when Torres raped him one more time.
The shame, confusion and threat of further turmoil in his family sent Doe on a downward spiral of overeating and wrestling with depression, along with methamphetamine and alcohol abuse, DA Malinsky said.
Housing insecurity forced Doe back into the home of his childhood abuser, and he said the last thing he wanted to do was to give Torres and his family a reason to put Doe back on the street.
Members of the Torres family audibly scoffed, grunted and whispered during Malinsky and Doe’s testimony, indicating that animosity between family members exists despite months to reckon with the child sex abuse conviction.
When an uncle of the two walked up to take the stand in defense of Torres’ character, Doe shook his head in silence as his wife massaged his scalp—Doe said even with his wife, he still feels discomfort having his back rubbed or touched.
The character testimony failed to sway Sevely, who sentenced Torres to the full 18 years in prison that Doe and Santa Clara County prosecutors sought. Torres must register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life and has no possibility of parole from his almost two-decade prison sentence.
“You're not a victim. You are a plague that needed to be stopped,” Doe said.
“You’re a wolf that represented himself as a shepherd or some kind of savior to fulfill some sick fantasy among the community you were sworn to help.”
