A cop raped 4 women while on duty. Sanger just paid a $5.25 million settlement
The city of Sanger has settled a lawsuit with a victim of a former police officer who repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted women while on duty.
In confirming the $5.25 million settlement with The Bee on Friday, the city said it is the next step in ensuring justice in the case against J.D. Torrence, who received five life sentences in September after being convicted for a series of sexual assaults he committed, beginning in 2016.
“The city acted swiftly to invite the sheriff’s dept and FBI to independently investigate these allegations,” city manager Nathan Olson said, in an email to The Bee. “Once the criminal matter was completed with the conviction of ex-officer Torrence, the city is now working to compensate the victims,” he said.
Torrence was convicted for assaulting four women.
In one of the assaults, he kidnapped a 21‑year-old who was walking to a store to buy groceries, drove her outside of town and “sexually assaulted her at an isolated dead end,” according to the case presented by the Justice Department. In another, he assaulted a domestic violence victim in her home. He was there on the pretence of investigation.
Nicolas “Butch” Wagner, the lawyer representing the victim in the settlement case, believes other woman may have been assaulted. “I think there’s probably more victims out there that haven’t come forward yet,” Wagner said in a phone call with The Bee on Friday.
There is a 10-year statue of limitation on sexual assault for civil cases, which can be filed regardless of any criminal complaint. He’s already representing four other woman who were victimized by Torrence and will be filing civil complaints next week.
But the settlement in this first case, is helpful in bringing closure for his client.
“It’s been eight years that she’s had to deal with this, mentally,” Wagner says. The settlement allows her to move on without having to relive the events through further litigation. It also shows the city understands the gravity of the crimes committed by one if its employees and the effect it’s had on his victims, Wagner said.
“The acknowledgment of the city of that helps a lot.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 2:03 PM.