Banning officer resigns after arrested for sending obscene images to minor, using minor to create sexually explicit matter

BANNING, Calif., — New details have been released after a former Banning police officer was arrested for allegedly distributing harmful and obscene matter to a minor, including explicit photos of a sexual nature, earlier this month. The suspect’s booking charges indicate he has also been accused of using a minor to create sexually explicit matter.

Officials have since said the alleged suspect, 38-year-old Christopher John Sayeski, resigned from his position with the Banning Police Department on Feb 11, the week after his Feb. 3 arrest.

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Investigators with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Crimes Bureau – Special Victims Unit began an investigation into Sayeski last November after learning he was possibly involved in distributing harmful matter to a minor, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Joshua Parker reported yesterday afternoon.

As their months-long investigation continued, investigators uncovered evidence that Sayeski “distributed harmful matter to a minor which included explicit photos of a sexual nature,” according to Parker.

Now-former Banning Police Officer Christopher Sayeski was arrested earlier this month after officials say an investigation revealed he had not only distributed harmful and obscene sexual matter to a minor, but had also used a minor to create sexually explicit matter. RSO booking photo

Based on their investigation, MCB – SVU officials arrested Sayeski on Feb. 3 and he was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning the same day. 

Online jail records indicate he was released from custody within hours of his arrest after posting $10,000 bail or bond. He is scheduled to appear at an unspecified court on March 21.

Banning Police Department officials have since said the agency “is fully cooperating with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office in their investigation of this matter.”

“The Banning Police Department remains committed to the uncompromised integrity of its officers and it will take all appropriate actions to ensure the public’s trust in its law enforcement agency,” they continued.

The Sheriff’s investigation is continuing and anyone with information regarding the details of this case is encouraged to call Valley Crime Stoppers with anonymous tips at (760) 341-STOP, or contact Investigator J. Reinbolz at (760) 836-1634. Callers can refer to incident file number R213200001 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.