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Via NBCSanDiego.com
Sean Banks of Del Mar, Calif., was arrested for allegedly raping a woman he met on a dating website.
Police in La Mesa, Calif., have arrested a man accused of raping a woman he met on a Christian online dating website.
Sean Banks, 37, of Del Mar, Calif., has been known to use aliases online including Rarity, Rylan, Rylan Butterwood and Rylan Harbough.
Banks is accused of raping a woman he met on the website ChristianMingle.com, officials said.
The woman told police after Banks arrived at her home in La Mesa, he was sexually aggressive toward her and ultimately raped her.
"This was the first time she met him face-to-face," La Mesa PD Officer Matt Nicholass said.
He said that the woman felt comfortable with the individual coming to her house, and it was only after he was inside the home that he became forceful.
The incident occurred in November 2012. Banks was arrested by La Mesa police on Feb. 11.
Banks was booked on a number of charges including rape by force, digital penetration by force and residential burglary.
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When contacted by NBC 7 San Diego, the dating website said it has reached out to the La Mesa Police Department and is willing to assist in the investigation in any way it can.
"The safety and security of our members is of critical importance to us," said spokesperson Arielle Schechtman. "We take tremendous precautions to protect the safety and privacy of our community members."
She said the website has profile review experts who manually review all profile text and photos submitted by members.
"We have also developed several proprietary, automated tools to help identify questionable profiles and to eliminate fraudulent activity in our communities," she said.
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Now detectives are asking for the public's help. They are concerned Banks may have been using other names and may have more victims.
Banks has moved around the country, so investigators are concerned there may be victims outside of San Diego County and perhaps California.
The suspect may have been working on other websites.
Anyone with information can call La Mesa Police at 619-667-1400.
Leave a Comment:
So... was that gawd's match for her?
Whatever your belief, really... would you ever trust a site that claimed they would find "God's match for you?" Do you think you need a website if you believe there's a "God's match for you?"
Wouldn't it be more likely they're just pathetically pandering to your belief system? Why would people believe such crap? If they were just honest about "Finding Your Ideal Christian Match" or some other bs. But to say they're working for God? Really?
what the hell is this CHRISTIAN women inviting a man she has never met, to her home in the first place.
everybody knows you ALWAYS meet at public place for the first few talk sessions..
not that I'm saying she deserved to be raped, however that is not very smart !
God must have been on vacation that week, to pick a rapist for a first date..what a great match !
I guess if you're looking for someone who has the same imaginary friends and delusions you do, ChristianMingle would be a great place. Not only that but it's just as homophobic as eHarmony used to be before they got sued by New Jersey for unlawful discrimination. Apparently they think there aren't any gay Christians, or if there are they don't deserve to find a soul mate.
LOL.......U go skrekk....I swear your comments crack me up:)
what he did has nothing to do with jesus, it was his will, not god's. everyone has free will to choose their behavior.
Never EVER invite someone you met online to your home for the first meeting. Meet them in daylight in a public place. It doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, or whether your hands are lethal killing machines. Always tell at least one person where you are going and what you are doing and when you expect to be back. Preferably, also give them a photo of the person you are meeting.
Once you have got to know the person, it's different, but online life can provide a totally false sense of security that might be easily violated. Wait till you are confident enough you know them in real life.
Stay off of all dating sites and date only people you really know. Be safe and have your first couple of meets with friends around so that you too get to know this person a bit. Some people meet on the internet and fall in love. Good for them, but it's too big of a risk.
Meeting people any place in anyway is always a risk. There is no difference between meeting a person online and meeting them in real life when it comes down to meeting them in person for the first time. I person you meet at work or at school can hide their true intent just as well as someone online.
It is true though that meeting in public places for an extended amount of time before inviting someone home is always the best way to start.
what if you don't like any of them, lol
Get a cat.
Right dumbass, date people you know because they never turn out to be drunks, beaters, addicts. What a Dbag
It wasn't very nice of him to be so biblical to her.
If he were truly following biblical principles he'd simply pay her father 50 shekels of silver in order to buy her after raping her, as Deuteronomy 22:29 requires.
And she'd be forced to marry her rapist.
wow, really classy rape humor. must be real intellectuals on here today.
the worst part is you got a few votes and a green star for it, wow, what a wonderful world it is, full of kindness.
It is funny that your imaginary sky wizard and bronze-age cult don't have much problem with rape and want to force a woman to marry her rapist.
I think that's what Christofascists mean by "family values."
Ladies - stay away from these dating websites and Craigslist... hasn't there been too much of this in the news - heck, one is too much... there are bad guys out there just licking their chops...
pete15,There are also bad women out there luring men for robbery and murder.
"pete15" -
CRAIGSLIST ??? .... really ?
Hmm..... lol !
Nah.. just kidding. I mean, I'm no "Prize" but... THINK OF THE DISCOUNT !... lol.
Ahh... life is Good. As long as you are NOT GETTING RAPED BY CHRISTIANS !
What church did THIS FREAK attend, that Recommends RAPING a prospect for a Wife ?
Geez, I Finally don't feel quite as bad about the old Irish priest who "Touched me in the.... Um.. Closet?"
"yeah,.. closet.. that will work..." and still pretending everything's normal... Hmm.. hmm.. hmm..
(Don't leave your kids alone with anyone, folks.... seriously. and meet your dates at a friends house, make sure it someone that ALREADY KNOWS that persons WORTHY character !)
Walking eagle, were you an Altar Boy ?
it was the Gaelic Exclamation you used "oi" that made me wonder.... (i grew up going to the Catholic Church.)
and no, i would never leave children alone with anybody... that is sound advice, for those who still lacked the common sense to know better.
"Cruella" -
yes, my dear Cruella... I was in fact an Altar Boyalicious Man Treat... Embarrassing as Heck during my youth, but i'm 45 years old now... so what the heck !
there are also persons who will steal pictures and your image can be misused, especially if you are very pretty, well built and get millions of hits, not so funny. even if you take them down, they are out there. just an fyi.
"Banks was booked on a number of charges including rape by force, digital penetration by force and residential burglary.What in the world is "Digital Penetration"?"
"Digital Penetration"? Say what?
Yeah, I have to look that up. Is that when you force your ones and zeros on to someones computer after you have been told no?
Just to be clear, I just looked up Digital Penetration, it is the act of using ones fingers to penetrate a person. So, it has nothing to do with computers as I originally assumed.
"QE137" - ""when you force your ones and zeros on to someone's computer after you have been told no""
oi ! that was DUMB !.... (and yes I LAUGHED !... so yeah, it was Good !... ;)
I am confused.........Is all digital penetration (aka "fingering") illegal in California or only "forced digital penetration"? And in that case.......do they mean that it is OK if youaccidentally finger someone but if you intentionally fingered them, then it is a crime? I don't get it? Why not just include "digital penetration" as "sexual assault"?
Usually it would be sodomy if other body parts were used to do so. They are calling out the fact that it was in addition to the brutality of the original rape. Just like if they say rape and sodomy. They are both rape, but it allows for additional charges to be pressed for the adiditonal brutality.
The bad thing is that people do not seem to make a connection that this dose not just happen when you meet people online, it happens when you meet people any place. When your online your just exposed to more people ( including the whack jobs ). So, it is always a great idea to get to know someone in a public setting for as long as possible before bringing them home or going some place alone with them.
Then again, people are raped many times by people they have known for years and years. I guess you just have to be on guard all the time for such an thing and take as many precautions as you can.
I hope the guy gets a good long jail sentence.
you can never trust anyone you meet on the internet but getting picked up in a bar is okay.
No matter how you meet a person never let them pick you up at your home for the first few dates.Meet them out in public in the daytime for coffee or lunch.Just because it's a Christian web site does not mean that the people who use it are nice.Children are taught to be distrustful of and not talk to strangers so you'd think that grown people would heed that warning.
Should we consider banning on-line dating and computers? Seems to be the current mindset recently. Blame and ban the tool, rather than the person. In truth, I hope this guy spends a long time as Bubba's girlfriend in the state pen.
digital are fingers. thus Digital Penitration...mmmmmmmmmm
You would think christianmingle.com would be a nice website to meet a fellow bible thumper etc etc..
But some of the spam I receive from them in my spam emails?..terrible.. I've received explicit emails from what is probably a third party ad site in my spam folder..but it was addressed from them..with their add and a picture of a women in a short dress and low cut shirt. I would expect something more like a turtle neck sweater and corduroys...Some of the ads even have explicit text in the,m..
Now I am not blaming emails like I receive to be the reason the man did what he did..He was a hardened rapist for christ sakes..
Just why I have gotten email from THEM in this fashion is bothersome..
This just supports the thinking of many that the right wing Christian is not that smart and if they think God is going to find someone for them. This type of thinking is going to piss god off as he gave us brains to nourish and grow to make good decisions on our own. If you didn't follow the directions God gave you well then you have problems.
A pesron would have to be carzy to join any of these dating websites. The horror stories are now starting to pile up...
The alleged rapist was active in the local Tea Party and a strong supporter of Mittens Romney. He owns lots of guns. He hates poor people, women, Blacks and Latinos, and would cut off all government support to the elderly. This is a modern American Taliban Christianist for you.
Be sociable and you will meet someone. People who sit there waiting for someone else to make the move, will be waiting a long time. If you go to a bar or club, you will see them sit there all night long without talking to anyone. And they wonder why they cant find anyone and go home alone. Be sociable, and you will attract people.
The rapist should get his you know what loped-off for that.
actually I am not fond of bar losers, but if i ever had to sink to the level of choosing from bar losers, I would pick the one who sat there all not talkiing to anyone, most likely to not have stds, lol
NO! Everyone knows that you can't lie on the internet!
he has that "crazy in the eye" look most thumpers seem to be aflicted with.
This Christian dating sites have sprung up everywhere...and they are all over the TV advertising. Why would the woman invite him to her house when she has never met him...is it "because he claimed he was Christian"? There was a woman who got scammed by a real estate con artist because she thought since he goes to church and sings in the choir he must be a honest man. He swindled her of $500, 000 and many others. There are a whole bunch of Christians who do a lot of hanky panky and claim purity, virginity and all that. These people are giving Christianity a bad reputation. Some of them are inserting religious newsletters in public library books. In California there is a whole bunch of Asian women who are screwed up by these religious indoctrination. Somebody should do an expose on some of these Asian Christian churches and groups. One Asian woman going on and on about Jesus in a restaurant was sitting with half her thong showing and using God to seduce the man next to her...twice her age and looking like this guy. He might have been the same guy. These people don't know how to have healthy sex as adults. They are either frigid or perverts...nothing in between.
I'm sure the good folks here wouldn't be quite so delighted if this happened on Eharmony right? I mean the dumb christian women surely deserved it. Hypocrites abound, and you call right wingers all sort of ill names while engaging in such disgraceful activity yourselves. You should be ashamed!
Just look at the guy's picture! He looks like some squeaky clean Christian nerd! Just goes to show appearances can be very deceiving....you have to be discerning and untrusting no matter where you meet people. Very sad to think that you just can't trust anyone.
People need to watch ID (Investigation Discovery) more...will really open your eyes to the crazy evil living right next door. Maybe the channel has just jaded me.
I'm shocked! A man "claiming" to be a christian a rapist? Was this god's will??
I would never say that she deserved it, she didn't and I hope the rapist does lots of time behind bars but she stupidly believed the hyped ad ...... "Find Gods Match for You", They are capitalizing on people's misguided faith in God and their fellow man!
Agreed...christian mingle and eharmony prey on the evangelic ignorance of their audience and from what we have seen there is a lot of that going around.
I wanna play devil's advocate here for some discussion:
What if he didn't rape her? What if she just had a one night stand with the guy, felt bad about it, and then cried rape?
When did she report the rape? Why did it take so long between the incident and the arrest?
We don't have any info other than the police and the media have labelled him a rapist, so we assume he's guilty.
That's up to the prosecutors to prove to the court, but apparently they suspect he's done this to several other women.
We don't know when the rape was reported. It may have taken the cops some time to connect the online alias with the perpetrator, or they may have been tracking his other online activities.
It also sounds like you don't know much about rape. There are all kinds of reasons why women delay reporting a rape or never report it, from the trauma of the event itself to the fear of retaliation, to embarrassment, to the awareness that few rapists are ever convicted while the victim often receives adverse consequences by reporting the rape.
I've tried multiple dating sites and got my fair share of creepster messages, but Christian Mingle was by far the worst. It's a feeding ground for predators.