A former high school football star, who had dreams of playing in the NFL, wept on Thursday as a judge dismissed a rape charge that sent him to prison for more than five years. Brian Banks, 26, pleaded no contest 10 years ago on the advice of his lawyer after a childhood friend falsely accused him of attacking her on their high school campus. The district attorney offered Banks a deal to plead guilty to rape and spend another 18 months in prison or go to trial and face 41 years to life, according to CBS Los Angeles.
The woman, Wanetta Gibson, said in an initial meeting with Banks that she lied; there was no kidnap and no rape and she offered to help him clear his record, according to state records. She refused to repeat the story to prosecutors because she feared she would have to return a $1.5 million settlement from a civil suit brought by her mother against Long Beach schools. According to a defense investigator, during a secretly videotaped meeting, Gibson told Banks, “‘I will go through with helping you but it’s like at the same time all that money they gave us, I mean gave me, I don’t want to have to pay it back.’” It was unclear if Gibson would have to return the money for making a false accusation when she was 15. Before Banks was arrested, he attracted interest of such college football powerhouses as the University of Southern California, University of Michigan, and Ohio State University, the website Rivals.com. Banks verbally agreed to attend USC on a four-year scholarship when he was arrested.
