Brady Banks, 33, was arrested Thursday evening at a Metro Center hotel.
Matthew Moynihan
Jyotin AroraNASHVILLE, Tenn. -
A Metro Council member was arrested Thursday during a prostitution sting at a Nashville area hotel.
Metro police said 33-year-old Brady Banks paid an undercover female officer $100 to have sex with him.
According to authorities, Banks, who represents Metro's fourth district, met the officer at a hotel on Athens Way in Metro Center after responding to an escort service ad posted by the police department online at Backpage.com.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said, "He entered and paid the officer $100 cash, exchanged hands for sex. After the money exchanged, he was placed under arrest."
Banks was charged with patronizing prostitution and booked into the Metro jail.
"The officer had no idea the person who called and coming was a Metro councilman," Aaron continued. "They didn't know when he walked into the room he was a councilman. It was only after he was under arrest and doing documents that it was learned who he was."
According to some, Banks was a rising star. He graduated from Harvard with a master's degree from the Divinity Program.
Until Friday, he was the outreach director for the governor's Books from Birth Foundation. He resigned following his arrest.
He also served as the director of Nashville Mayor Karl Dean's Office of Neighborhoods.
Banks is married to a Belle Meade minister and has a new baby boy.
Nashville's News 2 Investigates went to Bank's home and Friday and called him repeatedly but efforts to get his side of the story were unsuccessful.
Councilman at Large Jerry Maynard called Banks a "good friend" and spoke on his behalf.
"It was painful. He is a good friend. His family is good friends of ours. Of course we are disappointed and we are praying for his wife and son and he'll get through this and he'll come out a better person," Maynard said.
When asked about emails calling for Banks to resign, Maynard stood behind his fellow councilman.
"We received an email demanding he be dismissed," he said. "Now is not the time to pile on and deal with politics. Now is the time to pray. As Christians we should pray for Brady and his family. I want to discourage any council members from taking any actions that would pile on or kick him while he is down. That would show any insensitivity to this sensitive matter."
Maynard continued, "I hope our council will take its time that we will pray with Brady and pray with his family and we will stand by him. It doesn't mean that we approve of what he did or what he is accused of doing but we don't need any resolutions or legislation that will undermine him and his family at this point in time."
Banks is out of jail on a $1,000 bond.
The Metro Council is scheduled to meet Tuesday. It was not immediately clear if he would be present.
Also charged in Thursday's sting were Matthew Moynihan, 38, of Hendersonville, and Jyotin Arora, 37, of Hermitage.
Moynihan is the co-founder of Sumner County tea party group Sumner United for Responsible Government.
