San Jose police this week arrested one of their own, Officer Saul Duran, 48, for multiple felony charges related to the sexual assault of a teenaged girl more than a decade ago.
Duran was arrested July 7, on a warrant after a nearly three-week investigation. Police said he was taken into custody without incident, subsequently booked into the Santa Clara County Jail, then released on a $250,000 bond, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. He is to be arraigned in Superior Court on Aug. 7.
San Jose Police Officer Saul Duran is accused of sexual assault of a girl he allegedly met while volunteering with The Parent Project between 2008 and 2012.
Duran has been charged with five counts of lewd and lascivious acts against a child aged 14 or 15, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said at a news conference Tuesday.
An initial police press release said Duran also allegedly targeted a second girl — the first survivor’s older sister — but Rosen said those acts cannot be formally charged because they are outside the statute of limitations.
Police said they received a report on June 18 from two adult sisters alleging that they were victims of sex crimes committed by a San José police officer when they were juveniles. The incidents were reported to have occurred between 2008 and 2012.
The department’s Internal Affairs Unit opened an immediate investigation and determined that the officer was Duran, and that he was a facilitator in a Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office program, known as The Parent Project, at the time the alleged abuse took place. The Parent Project initiative is designed to provide parental guidance and support for families.
During the investigation, Duran was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of both a criminal and internal administrative investigation.
The San José Police Department worked with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, which determined there was sufficient basis for criminal prosecution.
“Though participation in the program was voluntary, Duran served in an official capacity as a police officer, outside of his assigned patrol duties,” according to a police department press release. “During his time with this program …he met the two sisters, who were then 14 and 15 years old,” the police reported.
The department said Duran “was perceived by their mother as a positive influence, and after gaining trust, interacted with the girls outside the scope of the program… It was during these unauthorized and unsupervised interactions that the alleged crimes occurred.”
The Parent Project’s policies strictly prohibit individual contact between program facilitators and minors outside of structured program settings, according to the police.
“Sometimes, parents abuse children. Sometimes it’s teachers or coaches. Sometimes a police officer. It might seem like this happens so much, but statistically these are still aberrations," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. "The SJPD and the DA’s Office are here to deal with criminal aberrations, to try and prevent them, and make sure that predators – like this one – stop and pay for what they have done.”
“We were devastated to learn of these allegations and we hope that our swift investigation and arrest of Duran will demonstrate to survivors that we will treat your disclosure seriously, regardless of how much time has passed,” stated SJPD Chief of Police Paul Joseph. “If the violator is a police officer, they will not be protected by other police officers.”
“There is absolutely no place in San José — and especially not within our police department — for anyone who would harm a child,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “I want to thank our officers and the District Attorney for moving quickly and professionally to put this suspected predator behind bars. If found guilty, he’ll be the one in handcuffs – hopefully for a long, long time.”
Police said it is possible that additional individuals with information or similar experiences may come forward. Anyone who believes they may have relevant information is encouraged to contact Detective Sergeant Kilmer #3723 or Detective Sergeant Sanchez #4126 of the SJPD Internal Affairs Criminal Investigations Detail by email at
37**@sa*******.gov
and/or
41**@sa*******.gov
, or 408-277-4082.
The mayor claims there’s no place for harming children in San Jose. Nice sentiment but does he really mean it?
Does Mayor Mahan have any comment on illegal alien children being exploited as child labor on pot farms in California?
Ten illegal alien children were reportedly discovered by ICE yesterday working on a pot farm in Camarillo, CA. Eight unaccompanied by an adult.
Governor Newsom is publicly defending the pot farm; he obviously thinks trafficking in child labor is a good thing. What does our grandstanding mayor think?