Former San Jose inspector convicted of extorting bribes, sex from massage parlors - KRON4

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office announced that a former San Jose city employee was convicted this week of soliciting bribes and extorting sex from massage parlors.

47-year-old William Gerry, who previously worked for the City’s code enforcement from 2007 to 2019 and has since moved to Texas, was accused of demanding money from massage parlor owners to grant city permits or to ignore code violations.

The County’s D.A.’s office said evidence showed Gerry received more than $140,000 dollars in just a few months.

In lieu of payment, he coerced some of his victims to perform sex acts with him.

Gerry was also convicted of molesting two people when they were children.

One of the victims who came forward is from New Zealand.

He will be sentenced on May 20 and faces a 35-year sentence.

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“Whether children or vulnerable adult victims – this was an unconscionable abuse of power,” DA Jeff Rosen said.

“The victims are some of the most vulnerable people in our community. They often come from backgrounds where they don’t trust law enforcement and don’t know where to turn to. It took great courage for them to come forward.”

In November 2020 — Gerry was charged with felony counts of extortion, including trading his favors for non-consensual sex from the businesses’ masseuses.

In return, the D.A.’s office claims he also protected them from police raids by conveying confidential information he received from law enforcement as part of his job.

After the D.A.’s Office filed charges related to the extortion and sexual assault of massage parlor owners, further investigation revealed sex abuse crimes dating back decades.

Two victims came forward who were sexually assaulted by Gerry when they were children.

One of the victims who came forward was assaulted by Gerry when he was a youth group leader at their church — another victim was a relative who was molested by Gerry.