Questions continued to surface in San Jose Friday after a city councilman was accused by police of sexual misconduct with a minor and other related crimes.
San Jose police served a search warrant on Councilmember Omar Torres, and sources involved in the investigation told NBC Bay Area he was detained and had his phone and other electronic equipment seized.
Sources said Torres is suspected of committing sexual misconduct with a minor, soliciting inappropriate pictures of minors, and is being investigated for an unknown incident which occurred while he was attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In a statement, Torres said, "Today I was wrongfully detained and questioned by detectives regarding baseless allegations. Let me be absolutely clear—these accusations are entirely false. I cooperated fully with SJPD and turned over my passwords without issue as I have nothing to hide. This detention was based on misinformation provided to law enforcement in response to a police report I filed against an individual for extortion and stalking and is a clear act of retaliation from this person."
Torres, through his attorney, said he will have no more to say until the police investigation is completed.
In a statement, his attorney anticipates Torres could talk publicly about it as early as next week.
People NBC Bay Area talked to who heard about the case were dazed.
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"I just don’t know what to think about his guilt or innocence," Lorraine Zeller of San Jose said. "But something’s happening and I would like to find out exactly what it is."
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan chose his words carefully.
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"All I’m able to say at this time is that this is an ongoing investigation and we have to let our detectives do their jobs," he said. "I know our police department is working incredibly hard to find the truth.”
