Woman accused of supplying Anthony Patterson with school girls to testify against him

Editor’s Note: This story contains details about an alleged sexual assault of a child. If you know or suspect that anyone under 18 is being sexually or physically abused, call the Texas child abuse hotline at 1-800-252-5400. To learn more about how to identify signs of child abuse or neglect visit dfpx.state.us/Child_protection

A Vernon woman accused of supplying two elementary school girls to Anthony Ryan Patterson is expected to testify against him with limited immunity during his child sex crimes trial beginning Oct. 30 in Fort Worth.

Prosecutors plan to forge an immunity agreement with Jandreani Dashimella Bell guaranteeing not to use her testimony as evidence against her in court in connection with incidents in November and December of 2017 involving her 8-year-old and 10-year-old relatives.

But Bell — who alleges Patterson paid her for sex after she met him on a "sugar daddy" website — can still be prosecuted for charges against her using other evidence.

The charges against Bell, 31, include two counts of trafficking of a person, one count of indecency with a child by exposure and one count of attempted trafficking of a person, according to an indictment filed Feb. 20, 2020.

During pretrial proceedings Thursday afternoon, Brooke Grona-Rob, Special Victims Unit chief at the Wichita County District Attorney's Office, told 78th District Judge Meredith Kennedy that Bell will receive the same type of immunity in Patterson's trial as she did when testifying before a Wichita County grand jury.

More: Woman claims Anthony Patterson sexually assaulted her when she was a teen

Defense attorneys for Patterson, 47, and prosecutors convened before the judge to wrangle over matters in hearings for about two and a half hours.

Patterson had too many lawyers to all sit at the defense table where there was only room for two to sit comfortably. So the four defense attorneys swapped seats, taking turns to present their arguments. Patterson is a former Wichita Falls business leader who is the scion of a wealthy family which once owned local auto dealerships.

First Assistant District Attorney Dobie Kosub was at the prosecution table with Grona-Robb.

Patterson sat quietly in court, including at one point when Grona-Robb read off a list of salacious websites or searches gleaned via Cellebrite, a digital investigative tool. They appeared to indicate a mommy fetish, as well as an illegal preference for children. Grona-Robb attributed them to the defendant.

Patterson has entered not guilty pleas to a string of trafficking and child sex crimes charges, many of which could land him in prison for life if he is found guilty. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

He has filed a notice that he wants a jury to determine his punishment if he is found guilty, court records show.

Among the numerous charges against Patterson in connection with the 8- and 10-year-old girls are continuous trafficking of a person, child trafficking, indecency with a child, sexual performance by a child under 15 and aggravated sexual assault of a child.

The charges center around alleged incidents Nov. 18, 2017, and Dec. 23, 2017, at Patterson's home in Wichita Falls.

Bell told investigators she began taking the children from Vernon to his home after he told her he was attracted to children, according to allegations in court records. Both girls went on the first trip. Only the 10-year-old went on the second trip.

Patterson was also indicted on two counts of sexual assault of a child after a woman came forward to accuse him of lying about his age and raping her when she was an underage teen in 2003 and 2005, court records show.

During one hearing Thursday, the judge heard testimony from two possible outcry witnesses, the girls' tearful mother and Denise Roberts, executive director of Patsy's House Children's Advocacy Center.

An outcry witness is the first person who a child discloses alleged sexual abuse to. This special kind of witness is an exception to hearsay rules and can testify about what a child said if certain requirements are met.

Their mother testified she became suspicious when her 10-year-old daughter came home late the night of Dec. 23, 2017, wearing different clothes than she left in. She came home wearing boots, white tights and shorts, as well as traces of glittery makeup.

The mother scolded her for going with Bell after telling her to stay away from her, the mother testified.

"I told my daughter if she didn't tell me what was going on, I was going to whip her ass," the mother testified.

She told her to go take a shower, and then her 8-year-old came and began talking about things that had happened, the mother testified.

The girls' mother told the judge about troubling accusations that came from both girls. She was uncertain about timing in some cases and did not have as many details about the allegations as Roberts, who took the stand next to testify. Patsy's House records the interviews and makes transcripts.

Kennedy ruled Roberts would be the outcry witness as requested by Grona-Robb.

In the next hearing, the judge and attorneys waded through a long list of alleged additional crimes, wrongs and bad acts on Patterson's part that prosecutors put the defense on notice they may introduce as evidence in the trial.

More: Judge tightens Anthony Patterson's bail conditions

After hearing attorneys' arguments, Kennedy ruled whether a hearing would have to take place outside of the presence of the jury before something from the list could be introduced as evidence or the prosecution could introduce it to the jury without a hearing.

Jury selection for the trial is slated to begin 1:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in downtown Fort Worth.

Each side will have an hour and a half to question potential jurors, and a panel of 100 will be summoned. The trial is anticipated to last two weeks. It was moved to Tarrant County on a change of venue.

Patterson was free Friday from the Wichita County Detention Center on bail exceeding $2 million, according to online jail and court records.

Bell was also free from jail Friday on $200,000 in bonds, according to records.

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Anthony Patterson's alleged accomplice to testify against him