Sexual assault victim sues DA and San Mateo County

In July 2021, Banks was raped inside her home while unconscious, she said.

Her accused rapist, defendant Fernando Altuna Mendoza, allegedly followed her home from a bar, entered her house after she did not respond to multiple texts from him and then allegedly had sex with her with knowledge that she was essentially unconscious and too inebriated to consent. He was originally charged with forcible rape, rape of an unconscious person and two counts of sexual penetration.

Justin Goodwin, a private defender program lawyer representing Altuna Mendoza during the case, did not respond to request for comment.

The lawsuit cites an apology note from Altuna Mendoza to Banks, filed into evidence by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office during its investigation.

“My judgment wasn’t there, I shouldn’t have opened your door and gone into bed with you. I can’t begin to understand how you must be feeling after this, I have a daughter and I would never want her to go through this or any woman,” the apology note reads.

In October 2023, Altuna Mendoza was offered a plea deal on a singular false imprisonment charge. He accepted, was not required to register as a sex offender, and served no jail time once sentenced.

That plea offer was made because the DA’s Office was uncertain that a jury trial would result in conviction, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. Wagstaffe, alongside Deputy District Attorney Shin-Mee Chang and prosecutor Sharron Lee, are also individually named in the lawsuit.

“The evidence in the case, including a couple new witnesses that were found, convinced us that there was a very serious chance that [the case] would not result in a conviction,” Wagstaffe said.

Wagstaffe declined to cite the purported issues with the case but said that, to his knowledge, the DA’s Office committed no misconduct and maintained that she was informed of the decision.

“If I were to go into detail with the problems in the case, I would be personally attacking her,” he said.

In a previous interview with NBC Bay Area, Chang told investigative reporter Hilda Gutiérrez that she wished in hindsight the office asked for a continuance on the case so they had more time to allow for more thorough discussion with Banks. She justified the plea deal, however, by saying that the trial attorney had found issues with the tone of Altuna Mendoza’s confession, NBC Bay Area reported.

Chang declined to comment for this story, citing pending litigation. The county legal team did not immediately respond to request for comment.

That plea was against Banks’ wishes, and she said she was informed of it the morning it was presented without consultation, without adequate opportunity to intervene and after assertion that her case would be going to trial.

“I’d rather lose on the stand and find out what really happened to me, than this guy get a felony charge that’s nothing to do with rape, and no jail time,” Banks said.

Legal obligation

The well-established prosecutorial discretion to offer Altuna Mendoza a plea deal is not at issue within the lawsuit, Zisser maintained. Rather, the DA’s Office, county and victims’ services advocates who participated in Banks’ case are being accused of not upholding their legal obligation to take Banks’ desires into account and keep her apprised of the process.

Aside from the lack of notification about the plea deal that the lawsuit delineated — stating that she was informed by victim services’ office employee Laura Adams the morning it was presented — it also alleges that prosecutor Lee minimized the crime of sexual violence. In one example, Lee allegedly implied that possible video footage of Banks kissing Altuna Mendoza at the bar “somehow equated” to her inviting him to have sex with her, the complaint states.

“Sharron Lee made me know from the beginning that I’m only a witness in this case, until he’s convicted, and at that point I’m an actual victim,” Banks said. “It was really harsh.”

The lawsuit aims to depict a systemic issue within the DA’s Office, Zisser said.

“The way Carrie was treated by [District Attorney’s Office] staff really did not seem to reflect a real compassion of seriousness and the nature of the crime itself,” Zisser said. “It really did show a real minimization of the crime itself.”

Wagstaffe maintained that the DA’s Office takes the prosecution and conviction of sexual violence-related crimes extremely seriously.

“No prosecutor’s office in this state does a better job of prosecuting these cases,” he said. “My prosecutors are aggressive. I will stand behind them at all times.”

Probation violation

A second element of the lawsuit is in regards to a probation violation committed by Altuna Mendoza — driving under the influence in March 2024 — and is filed against county Probation Department officers, among others.

Probation officers only recommended one month in jail for the DUI and did not reach out to Banks after the violation was committed, in violation of her legal rights, the lawsuit states. Only through Banks’ self-advocacy was she able to offer a victim impact statement that Zisser said helped contribute to Altuna Mendoza’s six-month jail sentence.

“When victims participate, judges listen — sometimes they listen, and act accordingly,” Zisser said.

Impact

Both the lack of autonomy related to the crime and the subsequent criminal justice process have taken an extreme toll on Banks’ mental health, her relationship with her children and her work, she said.

“At first, you kind of think you’re going to be OK, and I’m not anymore,” she said. “I can’t work a full-time job. I woke up today feeling like I had cables sitting on top of my chest. … How many other rapists are out there that got plea deals too?”

As painful as the experience has been, she’s committed to doing everything she can to create a more equitable and empathetic institution for women who might come after her, she said.

“As bad as it was, I got far in the process,” she said. “There are so many women that don’t even get to the point of where they charge the guy with anything.”