Judge Cynthia Sevely sentenced former downtown San Jose council member Omar Torres to 18 years in prison on Aug. 29. The victim, identified as his cousin John Doe, testified that Torres raped him dozens of times from ages 4 through 13, with the abuse ending after Torres turned 18 in 1999. Family members were divided between demanding accountability and defending Torres based on his public service and sobriety. The defense portrayed Torres as a childhood sex-abuse victim; the prosecution countered that surviving trauma does not explain or excuse perpetration. Torres offered a somber apology; Doe angrily rejected it and described reclaiming his childhood identity.
"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."
"Fuck your forgiveness," Doe said as he staggered out of the San Jose Hall of Justice courtroom during Torres' final remarks before sentencing.
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