Duran has been charged with five counts of lewd and lascivious acts against a child aged 14 or 15, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said at a news conference Tuesday. Duran also allegedly targeted a second girl — the first survivor’s older sister — but Rosen said those acts cannot be formally charged because they are outside the statute of limitations.
The investigation into Duran’s actions began June 18 after the two sisters, who are now adults, reported the alleged incidents to the SJPD, Joseph said. It was conducted in coordination with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Duran, who has been a police officer since 2003, was placed on administrative leave from the police department a week before he was arrested, Joseph added. Joseph said officials waited to put him on leave so they could conduct the investigation without tipping him off, then decided to put him on leave when they had to reach out to him for evidence.
Duran met the sisters in an official capacity as a police officer while working with the Santa Clara County Parent Project, a program that provides guidance to parents raising their children, Joseph said. The alleged incidents occurred when Duran began to interact with the girls outside the program, which is prohibited by the program’s policy, he added.
According to authorities, Duran met the two girls when they were 14 and 15 years old. Duran gained the family’s trust and was perceived by the girls’ mother to be a good influence. Duran then began to spend time with the girls outside the program with their mother’s knowledge, he added.
Duran was previously fired from the Parent Project based on complaints that were not criminal in nature but that are “concerning” in hindsight — that Duran would spend time with women, both minors and adults, outside of the program hours.
Authorities encouraged other possible survivors who may have been afraid to report Duran because of his position as a police officer to come forward. Any “troubling interactions” had with Duran at the Parent Project should also be reported.
“While we are not currently aware of additional survivors, if you are out there, we want to hear from you, and you can trust us to hold those responsible accountable,” Joseph said.
Rosen said that the Parent Project is reevaluating how its teachers are vetted and trained.
Manly, Stewart & Finaldi has represented hundreds of children who were sexually assaulted .We secured a settlement of $140 million on behalf of 81 child sexual abuse victims at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles. This was the largest child sexual abuse settlement by a public school district in history. We currently represent more than 100 victims of Johnstown pediatrician Johnny Barto . We are also the lead attorneys representing Olympic athletes and victims of former US Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Team Doctor Larry Nassar and secured $890 million in settlements for our clients. In each of these cases we have helped victims and families get justice by conducting a thorough investigation of the organization and the school In many cases we have discovered that administrators and executives know that the perpetrator was a danger to children and either did nothing or actively covered up the crimes.
