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Miss California Contestant Among New Victims Bringing Charges Against Man Accused of Raping Woman He Met on ChristianMingle.com
A onetime Miss California pageant contestant is one of the two new victims bringing charges against a Del Mar man who is already accused of raping a woman he met using the ChristianMingle.com dating site.Sean Patrick Banks, 37, was in court on Friday for arraignment on new charges "stemming from an alleged rape of an intoxicated person in 2009, as well as a separate incident in which he allegedly attempted to dissuade a witness from talking to police," according to ABC News.
One new accuser alleges she was the victim of a date rape, wherein the two met up for drinks, then engaged in sexual activities to which she did not consent. It is not known if the two met using the Christian Mingle site.
The second new accuser is Victoria Kinney, a former Miss Irvine who took part in the Miss California 2012 pageant. Kinney met Banks online via Christian Mingle, but they did not meet in person. She says they were arranging a date, but Banks admitted he had been arrested on suspicion of a prior sexual assault, and told Kinney to not speak to the police if they contacted her, and that she must tell him if they did try to reach her. Kinney is now accusing Banks of dissuading a witness.
Kinney's attorney said his client is a devout Christian, who believed she could have been Banks' next victim. She is not seeking damages, but wants to tell her story to encourage any other women who were victimized by Banks to step forward.
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Banks was arrested earlier in February on suspicion of two sex-assault charges and a count of residential burglary in connection with a woman who met him on the religion-based dating site.
The suspect allegedly used the Christian Mingle site under the handle "Rarity" to get to know his original accuser. He then allegedly went to her house and raped her, according to La Mesa Lt. Matt Nicholass. Banks has also used the names “Rylan Butterwood” and “Rylan Harbough,” on the same site, leading investigators to believe there may have been other women he assaulted or raped.
Banks faces 44 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges.
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