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 executives at the time Any essential evidence of abuse would definitely be a red flag revealed Steve Baron a former social worker and member of but not speaking for the county s Child Abuse Prevention Task Force But he mentioned 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 statements of domestic violence were unfounded and untrue Duran s lawyer Christopher Lamiero did not respond to a message Friday to discuss the assertions San Jose hired Duran as an officer in In response to questions the San Jose Police Department mentioned in a message Friday it can t discuss Duran s personnel record But in general feasible hires go through thorough background checks conducted by evolving officers who review personal and criminal history Criminal history includes any police contacts the police comment noted 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 tough teens authorities disclosed The girl was at the time while her sister was Both revealed they were casualties of sex abuse police commented but prosecutors explained they could only bring charges involving the younger one Prosecutors declared Duran was removed from the Parent Project in after violating the activity s protocol by spending time with class participants both adults and juveniles outside the effort Duran s behavior was concerning but not criminal District Attorney Jeff Rosen disclosed 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 reliably - but the issues with Duran at the Parent Project were not things that would generate a mandated statement to DFCS or law enforcement the district attorney s office announced in a comment 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 development 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 matter was dismissed In the episode was purged from the Santa Clara County court file and no occurrence documents are available records show The county s Department of Family and Children s Services which runs the foster parent initiative did not confirm whether Duran had served as a foster parent as state law says foster parent information is confidential But the agency disclosed 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 affair and will also be following up with all other law enforcement partners to ensure they timely document to DFCS any charges of child abuse or neglect the agency noted in a report When such claims are raised against a foster parent DFCS at once ceases placement at the foster home and conducts a child welfare inquiry into the statements The claims 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 Assistance 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 citizens 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 announced 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 commented Friday it had no record of his participant mentorship At the time Duran wrote he was a detective for the San Jose Police Department s sexual assault unit