The woman whose false rape accusation sent a high school football star to prison has been ordered to pay a $2.6 million judgement in connection to the case, NBC 4 Los Angeles reports.
Wanetta Gibson (pictured) was ordered by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Friday to pay a $1.5 million, plus an additional $1.1 million in fees. Gibson was an acquaintance of Brian Banks at Long Beach Polytechnic High School when she accused him of raping her in a school stairwell. Gibson then sued the Long Beach Unified School District, claiming the school was not safe; she won a $750,000 settlement.
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Gibson’s false accusation sent Banks to prison for five years, stripping him of his football scholarship to the University of Southern California. After Banks was released from prison, Gibson sent him a Facebook message saying “Let’s let bygones be bygones.” Thinking the message was odd, Banks worked with a private investigator to set up a meeting with Gibson. It was during their meeting where she admitted, on hidden camera, that she lied about the rape.
With the help of California’s Innocence Project, a judge overturned Banks’ conviction on May 24, 2012.
Since then, Banks had been on a mission to play in the NFL. He tried out for a number of teams, but did not make the cut. However, NFL coaches told him to keep trying. He eventually spent some time with the Las Vegas Locos of the United Football League, until the Atlanta Falcons signed him this spring.
