A warning, the details in this story may be difficult to hear. >> The city of Sanger, California, has approved a $5.25 million settlement involving a former police officer who used his badge to commit sexual assaults. The officer, J. D. Torrance, was convicted in federal court and sentenced to multiple life sentences for kidnapping and sexually assaulting women while on duty. This settlement resolves one civil lawsuit brought by one victim. According to attorneys, additional victims may still come forward. This payment was approved by the city council and will be funded by the city, not the officer. Thin blue lies, baby. Let's be very clear about what this is not. This is not one bad cop. This is not an unpredictable crime. And this is not accountability. This is a system failure that taxpayers are now paying for because this didn't happen in secret. It happened while he was wearing a badge. >> New tonight, a convicted cop will cost the city of Sanger millions of dollars in a sexual abuse settlement. The former officer's victims continue to suffer trauma from multiple assaults. Action News anchor Christina Lopez joins us from the live desk with reaction from the attorney of one of the victims who suffered the abuse for years. Christina >> Margot attorney Nicholas Wagner says his client, a 73-year-old woman, was sexually abused multiple times by the very person who was sworn to protect her, a police officer. And now she's one of about nine people who have come forward with similar allegations of violent sexual abuse and harassment going back as far as a decade ago. A warning, the details in this story may be difficult to hear for some. A major victory in the case involving a former Sanger police officer who repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted women over a period of six years. >> Predatory cops don't operate in a vacuum. They exploit authority, isolation, trust, and silence. And in this case, that abuse didn't happen once. It happened over six years. Six years of opportunity, six years of warning signs, six years where supervision should have intervened and didn't. They rely on departments that don't act until the damage is irreversible. And when it finally explodes, the officer goes to prison, but the city quietly writes a check. >> Last week, the city of Sanger approving a victim settlement of $5.25 million. >> She can move on with her life now. Fresno attorney Nicholas Wagner says the multi-million dollar compensation is an acknowledgement from the city of Sanger, but only offers partial closure to his client, who suffered at the hands of former police officer JD Torrance for years. >> It's the authority issue, the the power issue that is so damaging in this case. >> Here's the legal reason this settlement exists. Under 42 USC1 1983, victims can sue when a government actor violates constitutional rights. But more importantly, under Monell liability, a city can be held responsible if it failed to train, failed to supervise, ignored warning signs, or tolerated misconduct. This case wasn't just about what the officer did. It was about what the department allowed. That's why cities settle. Trials expose policies. Settlements bury them. But here's the part they don't want you thinking about. The officer doesn't pay. The command staff doesn't pay. The politicians don't pay. You do. Insurance premiums rise. City budgets shrink. Public services suffer. And the system resets. Ready for the next scandal? Wagner represents a total of five clients, various victims who suffer from painful trauma from years of sexual abuse. Wagner says the first reported assault happened in 2016 and his most recent in 2022. >> That was 6 years he went where he wasn't stopped. >> His law firm is aware of eight or nine people who say they were victimized by Torrance with the possibility of more. Torrance did this over a period of five or six years and he did it on a semi and on a rather regular basis. >> What matters just as much as what he did is how he did it. According to court records, Torrance used standard police tactics to isolate and control victims. He conducted traffic stops. He separated women from witnesses. He leveraged his authority, his uniform, and his weapon. victims were told they were in trouble, that they could be arrested, that no one would believe them. This wasn't brute force alone. It was psychological control backed by state power. And that's the most dangerous part because these tactics aren't improvised. They're learned, tolerated, and left unchecked. When an officer uses department granted authority as the weapon, the liability doesn't stop with the individual. His tactic, coercing his victims, ranging in age from 29 to 67 years old, to get inside his squad car. >> He actually was convicted in some counts of kidnapping because he forced women into his police car and wouldn't let him go while he raped him. >> Last February, a jury found the former officer guilty in federal court of sexually assaulting four women while he was on duty. >> And this case likely isn't the end. This $5.25 $25 million settlement resolves one lawsuit from one victim. According to attorneys, multiple additional victims may still come forward. Given the six-year pattern of abuse, this isn't a stretch. It's a legal expectation. Civil cases don't move all at once. They move as victims are ready, as evidence is reviewed, and as patterns are established. Which means this city may be facing years of continued litigation. Cities often settle early in cases like this for one reason, discovery. Trials force departments to open internal files, complaints, supervision records, internal emails, and disciplinary histories. Settlements cap exposure. Trials expand it. And when there's a documented pattern, every additional lawsuit becomes more dangerous than the last. This isn't just about what already happened. It's about what the system is still trying to avoid answering for. >> Eight women testified against him. >> The judge sentenced Torrance to five consecutive life terms, which is the equivalent of about 240 years when you're Torrance's age. >> Torrance's actions represent one of the most serious betrayals of public trust possible. Now, Wagner says his client is expected to receive the settlement money within 30 days of the approval by the city of Sanger. In the meantime, he says it's important for additional victims to come forward and say something, to come out of the darkness. >> This settlement isn't justice. It's damage control. Real accountability would mean criminal consequences, financial consequences, and institutional reform. Until that happens, cities will keep paying, predators will keep slipping through, and the public will keep funding failure. If you want real accountability, it starts with understanding the system that protects bad actors. Subscribe for breakdowns like this. Support the work if you can. And remember, thin blue lies, baby.