Charges Against Compton Teacher Dropped
A judge dismissed charges Friday against a former Compton High School teacher who was accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student.
The charges against Kenneth F. Banks, 30, were dropped after the key witness in the case, the girl’s stepfather, failed to appear in Compton Superior Court. The stepfather has alleged that Banks and the girl, whose name is being withheld because of her age, confessed to him that they had sex on two occasions in the summer of 1992.
Banks denied any wrongdoing. The girl recanted under oath, saying that she only confessed to her stepfather as an alternative to being thrown out of the house, attorneys said.
Without the stepfather, the prosecution could not go forward, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard D. Doyle said, and Judge Enrique Romero dismissed the case.
Banks said he had only been a mentor for a troubled student, and that he would try to resume his teaching career, if he could overcome the damage to his reputation.
“You’re presumed guilty,” Banks said. “And it’s like surgery. Even if you repair the damage, there’s always a scar there.”
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