SAN DIEGO — San Diego police have arrested a driving school instructor who is accused of multiple sex crimes with teenage girls who were his students.
Richard “Joseph” Banks, 50, a driving instructor employed by American Driving School in El Cajon, is accused of sexually molesting his underage students during lessons and secretly recording them with a camera hidden in his car.
"He worked in a career with young people before he came to us and is a father himself," said Dan Tackett, the owner of American Driving School.
Most of the victims were teenage girls under 18 years old, San Diego police said.
According to San Diego Police Department Detectives, Banks was arrested on Thursday and booked into San Diego County Jail on multiple charges including child abuse and molestation, sexual battery, and possession of child pornography.
“While investigating these allegations, detectives learned Banks was using secret cameras hidden in the instructional car to record his students' private areas during lessons,” San Diego police said.
In a statement to CBS 8, American Driving School owner and operator Tackett said:
"We were shocked by the allegations against Joe. 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."
Court records confirmed Banks has no criminal history in San Diego County. But in the mid 1990s, he did have a series of criminal cases when he lived in Sweetwater, Texas, including commercial burglary, forgery, evading arrest, and filing a false report.
San Diego Police said Banks is being held on the following charges:
- child abuse and molestation
- sexual battery
- possession of child pornography
- production of child pornography
- installation and use of a surreptitious recording device
Tackett says they've been in business for more than 40 years. "We've been doing this for a very long time and take it very seriously so when something like this happens it's just devastating to us," he said.
Investigators are asking for the public’s help and asking for any other potential victims to contact San Diego Police.
Anyone who thinks they may be a victim is urged to contact the San Diego Police Department’s Northeastern Division at 858-538-8026 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.