SPORTS
August 9, 2013 | By Dan Loumena
Brian Banks, who is fighting for a job with the Atlanta Falcons, said his debut in a preaseason game on Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals "was better than any roller-coaster ride you can ever get on. " Banks, a 28-year-old from Long Beach Poly High, should know about roller-coaster rides. He was a rising gridiron star before he was falsely accused of rape when he was 16, eventually being convicted and imprisoned for five years. He was released last year when his conviction was overturned after his accuser recanted her story.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
June 22, 2013 | By Jean Merl, Los Angeles Times
The Long Beach Unified School District has won a $2.6-million judgment in its lawsuit against a former student who falsely accused classmate and football player Brian Banks of rape, officials said. "The court recognizes that our school district was a victim in this case," district Supt. Christopher J. Steinhauser said in a statement last week. "This judgment demonstrates that when people attempt to defraud our school system, they will feel the full force of the law. " The Los Angeles County Superior Court judgment handed down Monday includes the $750,000 settlement that the district had originally paid to Wanetta Gibson, as well as interest, attorney fees and $1 million in punitive damages.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
June 20, 2013 | By Jean Merl
The Long Beach Unified School District has won a $2.6-million judgment in its lawsuit against a former student who falsely accused classmate and football player Brian Banks of rape, officials said Thursday. "The court recognizes that our school district was a victim in this case," district Supt. Christopher J. Steinhauser said in a statement. "This judgment demonstrates that when people attempt to defraud our school system, they will feel the full force of the law. " The Los Angeles County Superior Court judgment handed down June 17 includes the $750,000 settlement the district had originally paid to Wanetta Gibson, as well as interest, attorney fees and $1 million in punitive damages.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 12, 2013 | By Ruben Vives
The Long Beach Unified School District is suing a former female student who admitted to falsely accusing ex-Poly High football star Brian Banks of rape in 2002. The lawsuit against former Polytechnic High School student Wanetta Gibson was filed last November, just months after Banks' rape conviction was dismissed. Banks had spent five years in prison and another five on parole. He recently signed an NFL contract with the Atlanta Falcons. The school district said it is trying to recoup about $1.9 million that was spent defending itself after Gibson sued the district and collected a $750,000 settlement.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 5, 2013 | By Matt Stevens
Brian Banks was inside a New York television studio, waiting to tape an episode of "The View," when he got a long-awaited call from a friend. For weeks, Banks had known that signing a contract to play with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons was a possibility. But he had tried out with several NFL teams the season before and did not come away with a contract. “You're holding your breath,” Banks' attorney Justin Brooks said. Brooks was with Banks and his mother Tuesday when the exonerated former high school football standout heard the magic words: The Falcons wanted Banks in Atlanta the next day for a physical exam.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 4, 2013 | By Matt Stevens
The Riverside City College student body president is a registered sex offender who has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and committing lewd acts with a child less than 14 years old. School officials knew about the status of Doug Robert Figueroa, 40, prior to his run for office, but in a statement, they said they had “determined that there was no policy, statute or ordinance that could prohibit this student from seeking office as student body president”...