The plea hearing for former San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres has been postponed to February 14, following serious allegations against him, including multiple counts of child molestation. Torres, who resigned from the city council after being arrested on Election Day, faces a maximum of 24 years in prison if convicted. Investigations revealed his admissions of past crimes and lewd communications regarding minors. He has remained in jail without bail for 12 weeks, as the public and his political allies have distanced themselves following the release of incriminating evidence.
Torres maintained his innocence after the investigation went public in October and sent shockwaves through political circles. He claimed he was the victim of political retaliation.
Explosive police filings revealed he admitted to molesting an underage relative in the 1990s and more recently sent lewd texts about minors.
The probe involving Torres' more recent text messages about minors has not yet led to criminal charges, but it has prevented his pretrial release.
It sparked weeks of employee unease and scrutiny over what Torres' colleagues did or didn't know about his behavior.
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