A Bible quoting convicted rapist was sentenced Nov. 7 to 37 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting a woman he had met on the Christian Mingle dating Web site and another woman who came forward after his publicized arrest.
Consecutive terms were handed down to Sean Patrick Banks, 39, by El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein who said Banks showed “utter lack of respect of women and utter lack of respect of God.”
Banks compared himself to Joseph whose brothers sold him into slavery in Genesis and also told the judge, “I’m willing to drop my appeal if (victim’s name) passes a polygraph test.”
The judge responded: “Asking the victim to take a lie detector test shows a lack of remorse. That’s the essence of rape. It’s domination. It’s control. It’s you’re better than anybody else and you’re better than these women.”
“No, that’s not true,” replied Banks, of Del Mar.
Goldstein noted that Banks compared himself to Jesus when he talked to a La Mesa Police detective and claimed the victim felt guilty and made up her rape account because she thought she was kissing Jesus. Goldstein noted the tape of that interview was played before the jury, which convicted him June 23 after more than 10 hours of deliberations.
Goldstein ordered Banks to pay $8,755 to both victims and fined him $10,804. He was ordered to register as a sex offender upon his parole, which he will not be eligible for until 2043.
Deputy District Attorney David Williams III said Banks will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence and he asked for 68 years. He was given credit for serving 652 days in jail.
“He’s not a rapist. There was no violence used in this case,” said his attorney Brian White. “There was no physical evidence. When he was asked to stop, he stopped.”
His parents, brother and other family members said nothing in court but they prayed in a circle in the hallway before the sentencing began. White said “the offer still stands” about the polygraph test.
Christian Mingle will not do same-sex matches. They still do no background checks on applicants and still use their slogan “Find God’s match for you” in TV ads. It is no safer than any other dating Web site.
Goldstein sentenced him to 12 years in prison for raping the La Mesa woman in 2012 and 25 years to life consecutively for the 2009 rape of the other victim, 26, who met him on Match.com. The 2009 victim said she was drugged at a La Jolla restaurant and woke up to being raped in her living room.
In a press conference afterwards, attorney Gloria Allred said she was representing the 24-year-old La Mesa victim. Allred declined comment as to whether she would sue ChristianMingle.com.
Allred said Banks’ offer to forgo an appeal in exchange for the victim passing a polygraph was “an ultimate insult of disrespect.”
The victim said she and Banks exchanged text messages about faith and God for about a month before she invited him to her apartment Nov. 21, 2012. She said Banks showed up with rum and took a sip but refused to drink any more while watching a movie with him.
“During one of the fight scenes, Sean put his hand tightly around my neck and told me it was crazy to him that with just one twist you could snap someone’s neck and kill them,” she told the judge.
She said Banks became sexually aggressive, grabbing her arm and forcing her into her bedroom where she was raped. She said “that night completely changed my life” and she became withdrawn and depressed.
She said Banks’ mother contacted her relatives on Facebook and asked her family to tell her to stop lying about Banks.
“I pray for him every day. I pray that he changes,” she said.
Banks was in the Navy for four years as an intelligence officer. An eight woman four man jury convicted him of forcible rape, two counts of digital penetration, rape of an unconscious person and burglary. He did not testify at his trial and his attorney argued the sexual acts were consensual.
