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ChristianMingle.com used in rape case

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LA MESA, Calif., Feb. 18 (UPI) — A California man was arrested after allegedly raping a woman he met on a Christian dating website, police said.

Sean Patrick Banks, 37, of Del Mar, Calif., was charged last week with two counts of sexual assault and one count of residential burglary. He has pleaded not guilty and posted $500,000 bail, KSWB-TV, San Diego, said Monday.

Now police are trying to determine if Banks had targeted other women using the dating website ChristianMingle.com. The alleged sexual assault happened last November in the woman’s La Mesa, Calif., home. The victim only knew Banks though his online avatar, “Rarity.” It took detectives months to track down Banks and identify him as the suspect.

“This individual traveled around a lot,” said La Mesa police Lt. Matt Nicholass. “And we are concerned that there are people obviously outside of La Mesa or potentially outside of San Diego County that could be a victim.”

A representative for Christian Mingle said the company is cooperating with the investigation. Arielle Schechtman, a representative from the website said, “we are in communication with the La Mesa police department and willing to assist them in any way we can with the investigation.”

Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).

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