The False Accusation Against Brian Banks: One That Looks Worth Pursuing

In this space and others, I maintain that false accusations of sexual violence are rare, because they are. Their frequency is grossly over-stated by some "Men's Rights Advocates" (MRA's) and others to the detriment of untold numbers of women (and men) who are raped and far too often disbelieved because of the myths MRA's cling to and proliferate.What I have never written and will never write is that false accusations never occur, or that they should not be punished when they do occur, absent a serious mental health issue on the part of the falsely accusing person. This is often if not usually true, and is exactly what occurred in the infamous "Duke Lacrosse" case that so many unfairly hold out as a "typical" or common occurrence. The complainant in that case, according to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper in 2006, was so mentally ill that authorities felt she probably believed the accusations she made.That kind of situation, i.e., a serious mental health issue, doesn't seem to be at issue with regard to Wanetta Gibson, the woman who falsely accused Banks as a teenager, an accusation that landed him in California's brutal correctional system for five years. Banks was, thankfully, exonerated in a Los Angeles county courtroom and on the motion of the LA District Attorneys Office, which did the right thing in light of the evidence Banks was able to provide. That evidence, featured in a 60 Minutes segment aired earlier this week, included a videotape made of the complainant, Ms. Gibson, calmly admitting to an investigator that Banks neither raped nor kidnapped her, and (to Banks himself) that she would be willing to help him with his plight, but apparently not if it meant giving back the $1.5 million dollar settlement Gibson received when her family sued the school district over what they claimed was inadequate security.Banks was apparently a good student and an ultra promising football star verbally committed to play in college when his life was permanently altered and torn apart by the accusation. On the advice of counsel he pled "no contest" to avoid the uncertainty of a trial and was made to register for life as a sex offender upon his release. His dreams of playing in the NFL are almost certainly destroyed, but admirably he remains positive and not bitter about the person who cost him so much. Banks has stated he doesn't want Gibson aggressively pursued by the law for what she did.I don't know that I do either. But I do believe there should be a legal response to both Gibson and her family in terms of the civil settlement and her false claim- one she maintained throughout a long and arduous process. Gibson was a juvenile when she made the accusations, and that should certainly be weighed along with as many other factors as are relevant. According to some reports, her mother was the person driving both the false allegation and the law suit forward. Both civilly and criminally, Los Angeles county and the involved school district have a responsibility, in my view, to seek justice here. It matters, regardless of Banks' exoneration or how well he seems to be pulling his life back together. He seems like a decent, thoughtful young man and I salute his resilience and applaud his triumph.But even if Banks isn't insistent on pursuing Gibson and her family for tearing his life apart, his community should be. That's what prosecution is, after all. It is not the use of the government to settle personal scores. It is the expression of the community coupled with the power of the courts, aimed at righting wrongs in the name of everyone. And for the sake of everyone.Banks is not the only person wronged by this miscarriage of justice. Gibson's misdeeds provide fuel to an already roaring fire against victims of sexual violence, the great majority of whom are valid, but suffer skepticism because of cases like this. A combination of that truth and a desire to be credible as an anti-violence advocate and former prosecutor prompt me to wonder why justice isn't being sought against her, or the adults who pushed her forward.