San Jose Inspector Caught Taking Bribes, Raping Women at Asian Massage Parlors

November 10, 2020

A former code enforcement inspector from San Jose, California, who targeted Asian-owned massage parlors, faces multiple counts of sexual assault and extortion.

What happened: William Gerry, 45, a resident of McKinney, Texas, was arrested on Nov. 4 for rape, extortion and taking/asking bribes, according to CBS San Francisco.

The victims, who were mostly of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, have come forward to report Gerry and accused him of using his position of power, KTVU reported.
“Because he was issuing permits or reviewing properties to determine compliance to issue permits, Mr. Gerry used that and held it over the victims head extorting them either for sex, money or both,” Deputy District Attorney Jing-Lan Lee said.
“These victims are often 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, to report such abuses of power,” Lee added.
Gerry harassed the business owners from August 2018 to April 2019 while he was still on duty as the city’s code enforcement inspector.
He made $178,000 in extortion money from the victims, some of who were forced to perform sexual acts on him.
Gerry resigned from his position in 2019 and moved to McKinney with his wife and children, ABC7 News reported. He became an active member of his church community and often hosted songs and prayers on social media.

Arrest and charges: The San Jose police detectives, Collin County Sheriff’s Office and McKinney Police Department in Texas executed a search warrant at his home, which lead to his arrest, NBC Bay Area reported.

Gerry returned to San Jose and is facing 14 felony counts of extortion, bribery, rape and other sex crimes, as detailed in his arraignment on Nov. 5.
Gerry is currently held in Santa Clara County jail with a bail of $600,000.

Feature Imae via San Jose PD

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