School Counselor Faces 11 Charges Of Child Sexual Assault: Banning PD

BANNING, CA — A man who worked as a school counselor in Banning is slated to be arraigned this week on nearly a dozen felony charges stemming from an investigation into alleged sexual assault of a student more than 20 years ago.

Ruben Rico Franco, now 64 years old, is charged with a single count each of sexual intercourse/sodomy with a child under 10, and engaging in oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child under 10. He is also charged with three counts each of a lewd act with a child under 14 with force, oral copulation with a minor less than 14 years old by force/injury, and sexual penetration with bodily injury on a minor under age 14, court records show.

The alleged crimes occurred between 1995 and 1999 when the victim was between the ages of 10 and 14. Franco, who was 37 years old when the alleged assaults began, was a counselor at the victim's school, according to the Banning Police Department.

Banning detectives began investigating Franco after the victim came forward on Feb. 12, 2021. As a result of a months-long investigation, an arrest warrant was issued and Franco was picked up Dec. 1, 2022, on Union Street in San Diego by Banning police, jail records show.

Franco is being held at Banning's Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility on $2 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.