PATTERSON INDICTED ON MULTIPLE CHARGES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING, INDECENCY WITH A CHILD
May 20, 2021
Trish Choate
Times Record News
Anthony Ryan Patterson of Wichita Falls was arrested Thursday after he was indicted on six charges related to allegations of human trafficking and child sex crimes, an official said.
Patterson, 44, was arrested by the Wichita County Sheriff's Department and was being held Friday in Wichita County Jail, according to online jail records.
A Wichita County grand jury handed down an indictment against Patterson Wednesday, according to an official.
A total bail of $400,000 is recommended for five charges against Patterson, according to online jail records.
Online jail records did not show all six charges from the indictment as of Thursday evening. They did show the following charges against Patterson for his latest arrest:
• Trafficking of persons-continuous in connection with incidents in November and December of 2017
• Indecency with a child by exposure in connection with a Nov. 18, 2017, incident
• Indecency with a child by exposure in connection with a Nov. 18, 2017, incident
• Trafficking of person in connection with a Nov. 18, 2017, incident
• Trafficking of person in connection with a Dec. 23, 2017, incident
Patterson is suspected of human trafficking and indecency with a child involving two Vernon girls, 8 and 10 years old, according to allegations in court documents.
The charge of continuous human trafficking means that a person is alleged to have committed two incidents or more of trafficking during a period of 30 days or longer.
If convicted of the charge, Patterson faces a minimum of 25 years up to life in prison, an official said.
If a jury convicts him of continuous human trafficking, jurors won't consider the two counts of trafficking of a person, an official said.
But if they have reasonable doubt about the timing of the alleged events for a conviction of continuous human trafficking, they can consider finding him guilty of the two counts of trafficking of a person, an official said.
Patterson was first arrested Feb. 3 after an extensive human trafficking investigation involving agencies including the Texas Rangers, the FBI, the Wichita Falls Police Department, the Wichita County District Attorney's Office and the Texas Attorney General's Office.
He was originally charged with trafficking of a person in connection with a Dec. 26, 2017, incident and indecency with a child by exposure in connection with a Dec. 23, 2017, incident, according to court records.
Patterson has been a well-known businessman in Wichita Falls.
While still in jail after his initial arrest in early February, he resigned his position as president of Patterson Auto Group, according to a media release and jail records.
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A Texas Ranger's arrest report detailed the following allegations against Patterson:
Patterson told a Vernon woman he met on a "sugar daddy" website in 2017 that he was attracted to children.
The woman, Jandreani Dashimella Bell, 28, told a DA's investigator and an FBI agent that Patterson was a wealthy man who paid her for sex.
She later told a DA's investigator and the Texas Ranger that she began bringing her two young female relatives with her from Vernon to Wichita Falls for Patterson.
Wichita Falls police began investigating allegations in December 2017 after the two girls, then 8 and 10, made an outcry that they were victims of sexual abuse.
During a forensic interview, the 10-year-old said Bell took her and the 8-year-old to Wichita Falls for the first time in November 2017.
The 10-year-old said someone identified only as "Anthony" picked the girls and Bell up in an SUV in Wichita Falls, the 10-year-old said.
He told them to duck down as they approached a home, and they went into the home through the garage, the 10-year-old said.
Bell told the little girls to take off their clothes and get into a jacuzzi in the bathroom.
Patterson came into the bathroom and left. Later, the children were wearing towels while they sat on a bed. Patterson undressed and laid down on the bed.
The 10-year-old girl said Bell began rubbing baby oil on Patterson's back and had the two little girls do the same.
Finally, the 10-year-old got dressed and waited on Bell and Patterson in the living room. He gave the child some candy and paid Bell $500.
Bell gave the two little girls $10, and the oldest girl said she didn't know why.
The 8-year-old told a similar story during her forensic interview.
During a second trip to Wichita Falls later in 2017, Bell took only the 10-year-old.
Patterson again picked them up and drove them to his house, the 10-year-old said. While there, the 10-year-old saw Bell perform a sex act on Patterson.
The 10-year-old said she then left the bedroom, got dressed and watched TV while waiting for Bell and Patterson.
Court records show that Bell was also charged in connection with incidents in late 2017.
She was free Thursday from Wichita County Jail on $200,000 in bonds, according to online jail records.
Bell was indicted on four charges in February 2020:
• Indecency with a child by exposure in connection with a Dec. 23, 2017, incident
• Trafficking of person in connection with an incident on Dec. 23, 2017
• Attempted trafficking of a person in connection with a Nov. 18, 2017, incident
• Trafficking of a person in connection with an incident on Nov. 18, 2017.
https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/2021/05/20/anthony-patterson-indicted-charges-child-sex-offenses/5192922001/
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