A former driving instructor and Escondido resident who pleaded guilty to molesting and secretly filming multiple female students was sentenced Tuesday to five years in state prison.
Richard Joseph Banks, 51, who at the time of the offenses was an instructor with El Cajon-based American Driving School, was arrested in January on suspicion of sexually abusing students during driving lessons, as well as "using secret cameras hidden in the instructional car to record his students' private areas," according to the San Diego Police Department.
Previous coverage:
Prosecutors said the crimes occurred between February and November of last year.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Banks was initially charged in connection with 11 victims, but an amended complaint increased that total to 18 victims. Deputy District Attorney Casey French said all but one of the victims was underage.
After the allegations surfaced, American Driving School's owner, Daniel Tackett, said in a statement that Banks passed a background check before he was hired. During Banks' Tuesday afternoon sentencing hearing, defense attorney Mark Davis said his client has a minimal criminal history and his convictions date back 30 years and were not similar to the offenses in this case.
French said Banks molested some of the victims while they were in the middle of driving on freeways or busy surface streets.
"They were in a position where they were essentially restrained," said French, who emphasized the vulnerability of the victims in arguing for the five-year term, the maximum allowed for the charges Banks pleaded guilty to. "They were alone in a car with an older man. They were focused on driving. They didn't want to cause an accident."
The prosecutor also said Banks endeared himself to the victims and their families and built relationships with them so he could isolate the victims. He sometimes would offer free lessons or even money to driving students who did well on their lessons or the driving test, she said.
One victim's mother said in court that her daughter asked her to attend her driving lesson because Banks made her feel uncomfortable. But Banks insisted the girl drive alone with him, according to her mother, because he said that would be more like the actual driving test conducted by the DMV.
French said if parents did attend the lessons, he would ensure they sit directly behind the driver so they could not see the hidden camera.
Banks pleaded guilty earlier this year to 11 felony and misdemeanor counts, including unlawful possession of sexual images of a child under the age of 18, sexual battery, annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18, and lewd and lascivious acts on a 14 or 15 year old. His sentence also includes a requirement to register as a sex offender.
