SJ Councilmember Omar Torres arrested in lewd texting investigation, resigns his seat

SAN JOSE POLICE have arrested Councilmember Omar Torres, his attorney confirmed to San Jose Spotlight.

The attorney said on Tuesday that Torres had been "picked up," and will be arraigned Wednesday. SJPD confirmed Torres was taken into custody as part of an ongoing investigation into crimes related to lewd acts with a child. The department is planning to divulge more information at a Wednesday news conference.

Sources including City Clerk Toni Taber have also confirmed that Torres has resigned from his District 3 council seat.

District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan said Torres' resignation marks "a crucial step toward accountability."

"I have full confidence in the integrity of the San Jose Police Department and their commitment to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation," Doan told San Jose Spotlight. "With Torres' resignation, it is now crucial that District 3 has new leadership as quickly as possible. The people of the district deserve to be fully represented, and we must move swiftly to ensure that their voice is heard in the council without further delay. Until then the mayor, myself, and the rest of our council colleagues will continue to do all we can to support the District 3 residents."

Mayor Matt Mahan issued a statement on Torres' arrest.

"I'm horrified by the possibility that — far from his claim of outrageous fantasies — he may have in fact harmed children," Mahan said. "I trust our police department and DA to ensure that justice is served through the due process afforded by our laws. If you have any information related to this case or other cases involving harm to children, I would ask you to reach out the San Jose Police Department."

District 8 Councilmember Domingo Candelas said he's "deeply appalled by the horrendous charges" against Torres.

'This is deplorable'

"This is deplorable and has no place in our community," Candelas told San Jose Spotlight. "Our families, our children and our community deserve leadership founded on integrity, transparency and trust. The conduct in question undermines the values we stand for and tarnishes the public's faith in our local governance. We have to ensure our leaders are held to the highest standards of accountability. While everyone has the right to due process, I have the utmost faith in our police department and the district attorney to make sure that justice is served to the fullest extent."

San Jose police served a search warrant and briefly detained Torres in early October in an ongoing criminal investigation into alleged "oral copulation of a minor." The embattled District 3 councilmember acknowledged sending lewd text messages about minors through his lawyer, calling them "role-play."

Backlash against Torres increased in recent days as downtown residents began gathering signatures for a recall initiative. The entire council also called for Torres to step down. Doan was exploring options for removal proceedings and changes to the city charter in light of the unprecedented City Hall scandal.

"I'm horrified by the possibility that — far from his claim of outrageous fantasies — he may have in fact harmed children. I trust our police department and DA to ensure that justice is served through the due process afforded by our laws."

Mayor Matt Mahan

The scandal kicked off a political firestorm where Torres maintained his innocence while dodging all public appearances and refusing to let go of his seat in the process. His effort to stay in office fueled weeks of debate over how councilmembers could remove him, allegations of a City Hall cover up and employee unrest.

Sources told San Jose Spotlight that Torres was hiding out at his mother's house at the time of his arrest.

Torres' resignation creates a crossroads for city leaders on how to fill his vacancy that leaves downtown residents and businesses in limbo. Councilmembers could opt for a costly special election. Or they could appoint a replacement and reshape the balance of power between pro-business and pro-labor interests on the council, with four seats already up for grabs this November.

Calls for special election

Mahan — whose Deputy Chief of Staff Matthew Quevedo helped organize downtown residents' recall initiative — is leaning toward a special election.

"Just as he supported special elections in 2022 to fill the vacancies created in D8 and D10, the mayor would be supportive of a special election in D3 if the seat were to become vacant as he believes the people of District 3 deserve a voice in who represents them," Mahan's spokesperson Tasha Dean told San Jose Spotlight.

City Clerk Toni Taber said she's waiting for an updated cost estimate for a special election. A memo from 2022 put the cost of a special election for one council district in the range of $1.9 million to $2.8 million.

"You can expect there to be a modest increase," Taber told San Jose Spotlight.

Police first revealed their criminal investigation on Oct. 3, after serving a search warrant on Torres for passwords to his devices. On Oct. 10, court filings revealed Torres exchanged text messages about sex with minors and texted a photo of an 11-year-old boy Torres said is autistic, with descriptions of the boy's genitalia. This news outlet exclusively reported that at least one councilmember's office was contacted about the allegations in 2023 — a year before the police probe began.

In the filings, police said they interviewed an individual named Terry Beeks, who is described as a 21-year-old Chicago resident allegedly extorting Torres over their conversations. Torres admitted to investigators that he paid approximately $22,000 to Beeks, who told police he met Torres on social media about three or four years ago. Torres claims it was two years ago. The filings include texts between Torres and Beeks planning a sexual encounter in which Torres asks if Beeks knows any minors.

The filings don't include all the information police have in their case — only details sufficient to support probable cause to serve their search warrant on Torres.

The scandal has taken multiple dramatic twists. The San Jose Police Officers' Association spearheaded calls for Torres to resign. The San Jose Chamber of Commerce, San Jose Downtown Association, Vietnamese American Organization, Jean Cohen, head of the South Bay Labor Council which endorsed Torres' 2022 council run, and the Santa Clara County Democratic Party have all followed the city council in calling on Torres to resign.

The police union also accused San Jose's top administrators of trying to question more than two dozen officers — without informing them of their rights or following an investigatory process — in a frenzied attempt to uncover leaks to the media. The police union made that claim in a legal demand letter after city leaders tried to pry source identities from San Jose Spotlight CEO Ramona Giwargis, a move that the city manager has since apologized for.

The union's letter also questioned whether City Hall's controversial actions point to a larger scheme to conceal information on Torres — and protect others who might've known about his alleged misconduct. The city has denied the union's allegations but has not formally responded to them.