{"id":183883,"date":"2026-02-19T02:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T02:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/183883\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T02:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T02:15:10","slug":"man-sexually-abused-by-ex-sj-councilmember-omar-torres-speaks-publicly-for-1st-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/183883\/","title":{"rendered":"Man sexually abused by ex-SJ Councilmember Omar Torres speaks publicly for 1st time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) &#8212; For the first time since going to police about being sexually abused by former San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres, his cousin Adrian Betancourt spoke publicly about the courage it took to come forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In court proceedings, victim impact statements and in the eyes of many, he was known only as &#8220;John Doe.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Now, Betancourt is claiming his trauma.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;My name is Adrian Betancourt,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I am the man who, just like many of you, just can&#8217;t stand by and let injustices to happen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Betancourt is the recipient of the Karyn Sinunu-Towery &#8220;Courage&#8221; Award from Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen for coming forward after he was sexually abused by Omar Torres.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">RELATED: <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7news.com\/post\/former-san-jose-councilmember-omar-torres-pleads-sentenced-18-years-state-prison-child-sex-abuse\/17686003\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Former SJ councilmember Omar Torres sentenced to 18 years in state prison for child sex abuse<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Rosen said it helped lead to the former San Jose Councilmember&#8217;s incarceration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Adrian&#8217;s story is harrowing,&#8221; Rosen said at his State of the Office speech Tuesday. &#8220;Adrian, you are my hero. You are our hero too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">This was the first time Betancourt spoke publicly about the assaults he says date back to when he was just a child and well into his teen years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Our camera was the only one on hand as he thanked the men and women who supported him when he came forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;I am standing up here today to give a voice to the most vulnerable,&#8221; Betancourt said. &#8220;The children, the victims, the survivors of sexual assault, the boys and young men and adult men that stay silent and hold it all in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">RELATED: <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7news.com\/post\/san-jose-councilmember-omar-torres-served-warrant-child-sex-misconduct-report\/15391305\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SJ Councilmember Omar Torres responds to being served warrant for child sex misconduct<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">For Betancourt, holding it in led to years of drug and alcohol addiction and even homelessness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But when news broke that his abuser may have been involved in another sexual assault, he knew he could not stay silent anymore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Coming forward was not easy,&#8221; Betancourt said. &#8220;I did take into consideration everything that I had to lose, but what mattered stuck to me the most- the gain in positivity that came out of it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Adrian&#8217;s sad story is also one of triumphant resurrection,&#8221; Rosen said. &#8220;A person who had the immense strength to face his worst nightmare and dispel it by thinking of how to help others, how to help the next victim and how to help that next person who&#8217;s going to take on the last name, &#8216;Doe.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Betancourt&#8217;s is a story of bravery to provide hope for justice for the next survivor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">TAKE ACTION: <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7news.com\/post\/what-is-rape-sexual-assault-definition-harassment\/4305758\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Get help with sexual assault, rape, and abuse<\/a><\/p>\n<p><br class=\" \"\/><a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA hsDdd DbOXS oklLN GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7news.com\/abc-news-live-local-watch\/11513295\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Now Streaming 24\/7 Click Here\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR WAUrb hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770671872_43_11518842_247-NOWSTREAMING_1280x720.png\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"> If you&#8217;re on the ABC7 News app, <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7news.com\/abc-news-live-local-watch\/11513295\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">click here to watch live<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) &#8212; For the first time since going to police about being sexually abused by&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[86853,88,90,89],"class_list":{"0":"post-183883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-86853","9":"tag-san-jose","10":"tag-san-jose-headlines","11":"tag-san-jose-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}