Judge tightens Anthony Patterson's bail conditions
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Seventy-eighth District Court Judge Meredith Kennedy on Thursday modified the bail conditions of Anthony Patterson, who is accused of child sex offenses.
Brooke Grona-Robb, Special Victims Unit chief at the Wichita County District Attorney's Office, asked in May for tighter restrictions, claiming Patterson is a danger to children, and his wealth makes him a flight risk.
Testimony at Thursday’s hearing focused mainly on the former automobile dealer’s travel to Dallas to confer with his attorney and his visits to rental houses he owns in Wichita Falls.
Defense attorney Toby Shook said Patterson had come to his office in Dallas several times and sometimes stayed in Dallas overnight. Shook said forbidding Patterson to make the trips would make representing him far more difficult.
Kennedy ruled generally against allowing Patterson to make the trips and required advanced approval from her if it becomes absolutely necessary for him to go.
Patterson’s sister, Ashley Sells, testified her brother owned several rent houses in Wichita Falls and worked on them frequently.
Charges filed against Patterson in May allege he met an underaged girl for sex at two of those houses between 2003 and 2005.
Kennedy ruled Patterson must provide a list of his properties and names of the occupants and may not go to the houses when children are present.
Other restrictions include an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew at his mother’s home, staying at least 1,000 feet away from anyplace where children congregate, allowing searches of his electronic devices by the Wichita County Community Supervision and Corrections Department and submitting to random drug and alcohol tests.
The judge ruled Patterson may continue to check in with his community supervision officer primarily by phone.
A community supervision officer testified he had not had problems with Patterson violating his bail conditions.
In addition to the allegations from 2003-2005, Patterson faces multiple charges of sexual offenses involving two girls ages eight and 10 in 2017 in Wichita Falls. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
He has been jailed five times since his initial arrest in February 2021 and has paid millions of dollars in cash bail to stay free. His trial is set for October. If convicted, Patterson could face up to life in prison.
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Judge tightens Anthony Patterson's bail conditions
