Crime & Safety
Jury Selection to Start for Man Accused of Raping Women He Met on Dating Sites
Sean Patrick Banks, 38, is accused of raping a La Mesa woman in her apartment after they met on ChristianMingle.com in October 2012 and a second woman he met on a different site in 2009.
Jury selection is set to begin today for a man accused of raping two women in San Diego County, including one he met on a Christian dating website.
Sean Patrick Banks, 38, is accused of raping a La Mesa woman in her apartment after they met on ChristianMingle.com in October 2012.
Banks is also accused of raping a woman he met on a different dating website in 2009. He faces 44 years to life in prison if convicted of forcible rape, rape of an unconscious person, sex with a foreign object and burglary.
Find out what's happening in La Mesa-Mount Helixfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
A third woman—who is not a named victim in the case—alleged that Banks touched her inappropriately in a London hotel room after meeting her on ChristianMingle.com in late 2009.
The alleged victim in the La Mesa case testified at an earlier hearing that she felt safe after communicating online with Banks "because all we talked about was God."
Find out what's happening in La Mesa-Mount Helixfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Opening statements in Banks' trial are expected Wednesday.
—City News Service
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