A driving instructor in California has been arrested and charged with nearly three dozen crimes after allegedly sexually abusing teenage students and secretly recording the acts, reports Law & Crime.
Richard Joseph Banks, 50, worked for the American Driving School in El Cajon when the assaults took place. He was arrested on Thursday and is now facing 32 charges, including creating obscene material using a minor, sexual battery, and invasion of privacy.
The owner of the driving school, Daniel Tackett, stated that he immediately canceled Banks’ classes upon learning about the investigation into his alleged crimes in November.
“We were shocked by the allegations against Joe,”
Tackett told KNSD.
“His actions are his alone, and they violate the trust and policies of our company and those of the DMV regarding inappropriate behavior. He hasn’t taught any students after SDPD notified us of their investigation. We’ve always encouraged parents to ride on the lessons for observation of our teaching methods. As with all DMV licensed instructors, Joe passed a DOJ background check before he was hired.”
According to Tackett, Banks had been employed with the company for almost a year and had been receiving positive feedback from parents and even got referrals to teach other families.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time and we take it very seriously so when something like this happens, it’s just devastating to us,”
Tackett told the station.
Authorities are actively investigating to identify additional victims in the ongoing case. Banks is set to appear in court on Tuesday.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
