Additional accusers come forward in Sanger cop misconduct case, more expected

Donald A. Promnitz, The Hanford Sentinel, Calif.
·2 min read

Jul. 13—The number of women to come forward with misconduct allegations against Sanger Police officer and Corcoran resident J.D. Torrence has reached 12, with more women expected to testify soon, according to the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.

According to Lt. Brandon Pursell, there are seven complaints against Torrence that constitute criminal allegations and another five for police misconduct. However, Pursell said those numbers will likely go up as more people have already reached out with additional testimonies.

The initial complaint against Torrence was submitted to the Sanger Police Department — Police Chief Greg Garner then turned the investigation over to the FCSO to serve as an unbiased entity. Torrence was arrested last Wednesday on charges of sexual battery and unlawfully detaining a person.

While none of the accusations are exactly the same, Pursell said they have a common pattern. Often, the victim was allegedly contacted after becoming a suspect, or a victim of a crime. Torrence then allegedly manipulated the authority he had in the matter to get victims to do what he wanted.

"We are seeing common themes with both our victim profiles and with the way that Mr. Torrance acted and spoke to our victims," Torrance said. "And we are seeing consistent patterns of behavior with how he chose victims, who those victims were, and the tactics which he would use to assault them."

Torrence was let out on bail. However, he could be taken into custody again depending on charges.

"There is that possibility that he will be re-arrested. Each individual victim is an individual case. Although this is one suspect, there are multiple victims and each victim determines that it is its own independent case."

Some of the victims are reportedly from outside Sanger and were allegedly preyed upon when Torrence was off duty. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office is taking all testimonies at this time and those wishing to speak can reach out to Chad Stokes, the investigating sergeant, at 559-600-8144.

"We understand that they may not trust law enforcement after what took place. And that is very understandable. But we're going to do everything we can to get that back. And part of that process is hopefully getting some resemblance of closure for these victims for what happened," he said.