Charges Dropped Against Cathedral City Man Accused Of Molesting Family

Riverside County prosecutors today said they would not retry a Cathedral City man accused of sexually molesting three juvenile family members.

Charlie Banke, 38, was charged with six counts of lewd conduct with a child and a count of rape, but a jury deadlocked on the charges last year.

Jury selection for a second trial was supposed to begin today at the Larson Justice Center, but Deputy District Attorney Earl Lee Roberts told the court that his office wanted to drop the charges.

Roberts said that, even with a new trial, he did not believe he could get a conviction, according to court records.

In September, the jury deliberated for nearly two days following and eight-day trial but could not reach a unanimous verdict, which is required in criminal cases. A mistrial was declared Sept. 15.

Arrested in April 2009, Banke had been jailed for nearly two years.

The alleged sexual assaults occurred over a three-year period, starting in 2004, according to the prosecution.

One alleged victim testified during a 2009 preliminary hearing that Banke began molesting her by fondling her breasts on several occasions at family homes in the Coachella Valley, eventually escalating to rape when she was staying in Desert Hot Springs.

In court documents, the girl told a Cathedral City police officer she was 14 or 15 years old when she was raped at the Desert Hot Springs house.

According to court records, two other underage family members told investigators that, starting in 2004, Banke began to fondle them.

One of the girls said that when she was in sixth grade, the defendant told her, “Let me see if you’re ready for a bra yet,” grabbed her breasts, then said, “No, you’re not ready yet,” according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant.

Another girl alleged that Banke regularly came into her room, climbed into bed with her and touched her genitals.