San Jose cop charged with molesting girl was accused of domestic violence, sought foster parent credential

The San Jose Police officer charged with molesting a teenage girl more than a decade ago had been seeking certification as a foster parent and also was accused by his former wife of physically abusing her years earlier The new information concerning Officer Saul Duran documented in publicly available court filings in relating to child custody issues and the divorce of his first wife raises questions about whether that should have raised concerns with local personnel at the time Any notable evidence of abuse would definitely be a red flag reported Steve Baron a former social worker and member of but not speaking for the county s Child Abuse Prevention Task Force But he announced that information might not have come to light if the alleged abuse wasn t documented in police or court records especially if it didn t occur in Santa Clara County In the child custody court records from Santa Clara County Duran contended his former wife s assertions of domestic violence were unfounded and untrue Duran s lawyer Christopher Lamiero did not respond to a message Friday to discuss the statements San Jose hired Duran as an officer in In response to questions the San Jose Police Department noted in a message Friday it can t discuss Duran s personnel record But in general promising hires go through thorough background checks conducted by developing officers who review personal and criminal history Criminal history includes any police contacts the police declaration revealed In addition primary references are interviewed including family members and or spouses as well as secondary references obtained during that process Duran who has been placed on leave was freed after posting bail Prosecutors earlier this week charged Duran with five counts of sexual misconduct with a minor Duran met the girl and her older sister as early as while Duran was a mentor in a Santa Clara County-sponsored Parent Project that provides guidance to parents raising complicated teens bureaucrats explained The girl was at the time while her sister was Both noted they were sufferers of sex abuse police explained but prosecutors stated they could only bring charges involving the younger one Prosecutors disclosed Duran was removed from the Parent Project in after violating the undertaking s plan by spending time with class participants both adults and juveniles outside the activity Duran s behavior was concerning but not criminal District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced during a news conference announcing the charges earlier this week His office which ran the Parent Project did not notify the county s child welfare agency at the time Hindsight is invariably - but the issues with Duran at the Parent Project were not things that would generate a mandated account to DFCS or law enforcement the district attorney s office announced in a report in response to questions by the Bay Area News Group It would have been better for all to know what we do now much earlier but we didn t The circumstance is heartbreaking and we ask that anyone who was a victim to come forward and contact the San Jose Police Department By Duran had remarried this time to a woman who works as a criminal investigator for the District Attorney She filed for divorce in May the same year officers allege in a news release that Duran was sexually abusing one of the sisters Three months later Duran s wife withdrew her petition and the divorce incident was dismissed In the scenario was purged from the Santa Clara County court file and no circumstance documents are available records show The county s Department of Family and Children s Services which runs the foster parent operation did not confirm whether Duran had served as a foster parent as state law says foster parent information is confidential But the agency mentioned it didn t learn about Duran s Monday arrest and underlying charges until this week DFCS is requesting more information from the San Jose Police Department on this matter and will also be following up with all other law enforcement partners to ensure they timely analysis to DFCS any claims of child abuse or neglect the agency revealed in a announcement When such charges are raised against a foster parent DFCS without delay ceases placement at the foster home and conducts a child welfare analysis into the claims The accusations of domestic abuse against Duran arose in Santa Clara County Superior Court documents filed in by Duran s former wife Isela Ocegueda over child custody issues They divorced in the same year Duran was hired as a San Jose Police officer I have police records on file documenting physical abuse harassment and vandalism in El Paso TX and Santa Cruz Ocegueda stated in the court document She completed a domestic violence questionnaire she wrote and submitted sufficient evidence of abuse to Santa Clara County s Department of Child Encouragement Services Make no mistake about it my fear and discomfort are real she wrote This is precisely why our child pick-up and drop-off location is at a community place because I do not feel safe or secure in him approaching my private home I fear that yet another violent altercation would take place as it had so numerous times before In his own court declaration filed a week after Ocegueda in Duran commented that she had absolutely nothing to base her fear on Her only basis is a domestic violence questionnaire he wrote Reviews of court databases in Santa Cruz and El Paso counties show no criminal court cases against Duran Foster parents are generally fingerprinted which also would show any arrests if they are run through a police database In the same court filing Duran defended his parenting skills saying he earned a sociology degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and was a mentor for first-year West Valley College students in Saratoga and the county s Parent Project He also wrote that he was a foster parent candidate and attending county classes to become one West Valley College declared Friday it had no record of his attendee mentorship At the time Duran wrote he was a detective for the San Jose Police Department s sexual assault unit