Carrie Banks, an alleged rape survivor, is questioning the San Mateo County District Attorney office’s handling of sexual assault cases. According to Banks, her rapist got off too easy by accepting a plea deal for false imprisonment, a non-sex crime that allowed him to avoid any additional jail time.
Banks, who comes from a law enforcement family, said she grew up believing in the justice system but said her faith began to shatter in 2021.
Banks described a night at a local piano bar in San Carlos that took a terrifying turn. After realizing she had enough to drink, Banks said she went outside with a friend to order a rideshare home but found herself followed by an acquaintance she was talking to inside the bar. Banks said she met this acquaintance, who was a friend of her friends about a year before.
“He comes up to the bench we're waiting on and starts kissing on me like he had done a year before…And my buddy's like, ‘hey, hey, hey’. And when he does say that the guy runs off”, said Banks.
Banks said her friend helped her get home and before walking out snapped a photo of Banks in bed that he then sent to other friends, as proof that she was home safe.
But in the middle of the night Banks said she woke up to the acquaintance, Fernando Altuna Mendoza, standing by her bed. She recalls getting up and pushing him out the door.
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“I’m like, what are you doing?” Banks said. “Get out of here, get out of here. And I remember getting up, chased him out."
Screenshots reviewed by our Investigative Units show Fernando Altuna Mendoza, tried to reach Banks before he entered her apartment. Banks reported the incident to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and obtained a restraining order against Altuna Mendoza.
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Initially, Altuna Mendoza was charged with four felony counts of rape and sexual penetration with a foreign object but in 2023, Altuna Mendoza accepted a last-minute plea deal for felony false imprisonment, a charge Banks said she had never heard of and is not consider a sex crime. Despite Banks' readiness to go to trial, she said the plea deal was accepted, leaving her feeling betrayed by the system.
When questioned about the decision to offer that plea deal, assistant district attorney Shin-Mee Chang, supervisor of the sex assault unit within the San Mateo County DA’s office, cited possible concerns with a confession tape, “the trial deputy, after having listened to it, decided that there were some issues because of the tone of the conversation”, said Chang.
However, Banks claims the prosecutor never mentioned the existence of this confession or its tone.
Banks said she found out about the confession tape and an apology note after the case was finalized. A copy of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s report includes the transcript to an apology note and a summary of a confession tape by Altuna Mendoza.
Chang says the timing of the plea was unfortunate and in hindsight wishes they would’ve asked for a continuance to consult and give Banks time to process it.
Altuna Mendoza and his attorney were not reachable to comment on the case.
San Mateo County Sheriff and court records reviewed by NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit showed the plea bargain in Banks ‘case is not an isolated one.
NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit delve into similar cases reported to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and uncovered a pattern where defendants charged with sexual offenses negotiated non-sex related plea deals with prosecutors. We found that in one of every 4 cases, defendants charged with sex offenses negotiated plea deals that did not involve convictions for sex crimes.
Information was obtained and reviewed for 60 rape or sexual battery related arrests and crossed referenced with final outcomes or dispositions--36% of the cases were either rejected by the DA’s office or later dismissed, 32% are ongoing, and only about half, 57% were resolved. 31 of those cases carried a sex crime charge by the DA, and of those 19 (61%) resulted in a sex crime conviction, 4 (13%) were convicted of a sex crime by a jury--but in only 8 cases (26%) the defendant negotiated a non-sex related plea deal.
A law enforcement source familiar with Banks' case expressed disappointment, stating, "we expected a harsher sentence. This was a no fail case, meaning everything was put together with a legal confession available in a box and ribbon for them to prosecute accordingly."
The Sheriff’s office has not released the confession tape to the Investigative Unit or to Banks, but told us,
“The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office takes exceptional care when investigating crimes, including sexual assault cases. The role of the Sheriff’s Office is to gather all available evidence, and to ultimately present that information to the District Attorney’s Office for charging consideration. As the charging entity, the District Attorney’s Office determines the strength of a case for the purposes of prosecution. As a standard practice, the Sheriff’s Office does not discuss specific cases, but can speak generally about the challenges that are unique to investigating sexual assault cases.
Sexual assault cases are often complex, highly sensitive, and have unique needs. While gathering all available evidence, investigators navigate the trauma that someone has experienced. The Sheriff’s Office is committed to not only the investigation, but also to the support and recovery of the survivor. When investigating these cases, the Sheriff’s Office provides and aligns all available resources and services to survivors of these cases.”
Altuna Mendoza spent only five days in jail before being put on probation. In February, he violated his probation when he was found driving under the influence and is currently serving 6 months in jail, that’s more than he ever served in connection to Banks’ case.
Banks is now working with civil rights attorney Aaron Zisser, who has requested a practice investigation into the San Mateo County DA’s office, citing our findings and voiced concerns about the handling of sexual assault cases.
"My client wants to make sure that her demeaning and callous treatment by the DA's office doesn't repeat itself with other survivors of sexual violence. A DOJ investigation is essential to ensuring close scrutiny and ongoing oversight of a DA's office that has failed women time and time again and must do vastly more to show women in this county that their cases, their safety, and their rights matter. The institution meant to protect and seek justice for victims should not compound the profound trauma these victims have already experienced”, said Zisser.
