Editor’s Note: This story contains information about alleged sexual assaults of children. 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.
The trial for former Wichita Falls auto dealer Anthony Ryan Patterson may be delayed for months.
Patterson’s Metroplex lawyers have filed a motion to send off some clothing for independent DNA testing.
The 47-year-old was free Thursday from the Wichita County Jail on bail exceeding $2 million for multiple charges related to allegations of trafficking and child sexual abuse, according to online jail records.
The clothing to be sent for DNA testing is that which investigators believe was worn by one of two girls Patterson is accused of sexually abusing in 2017.
More: Anthony Patterson: A timeline
It consists of a “black t-shirt, white leggings, and blue/pink underwear,” court documents show.
In November 2023, Patterson was required to submit to DNA testing, according to court records. The sample was sent to a Texas Department of Public Safety lab in Lubbock for comparison to the clothes.
After Patterson’s lawyers received the results of the test, they requested to have their own testing done by Intermountain Forensic in Salt Lake City.
The lawyers said in the request submitted to the court on May 10 that it may take 60 to 75 days to get the results.
If 78th District Judge Meredith Kennedy grants the request, it would further delay a trial that has already streched for months beyond its original date.
A hearing on a defense motion is set for June 13.
Patterson was first indicted on charges in May 2021. Court records show with subsequent indictments, he faces charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, trafficking of persons, indecency with a child by exposure, sexual performance by a child and employment harmful to children.
He also faces sexual assault of a child charges related to a separate allegation.
Patterson has been jailed five times as charges accumulated and has paid millions of dollars for cash bail to stay free while he awaits trial. Terms of his release impose several restrictions and require him to live at his mother’s home in Wichita Falls.
If convicted, he could face five years to life in prison.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The trial was moved to Fort Worth on a change of venue after Patterson’s lawyers claimed he could not get a fair trial in Wichita Falls because of extensive publicity about the case.
It was initially set to begin May 8, 2023, but was delayed when some new charges were brought against Patterson. Jury selection had already begun in October 2023 when the trial was delayed again until Feb. 26, 2024. Then Kennedy postponed the trial again so forensic evidence could be gathered. No new trial date has been set.
The charges involve two girls from Vernon who were 8 and 10 years old when the alleged incidents occurred in 2017.
An adult relative of the girls revealed to investigators that Patterson paid her to bring the children to his home in Wichita Falls for sexual purposes, according to allegations in court documents.
The woman, Jandreani Dashimella Bell, is also charged in connection to the case.
Court records also reveal defense attorneys are poised to bring an array of expert witnesses to the stand, including forensic specialists, psychotherapists, sexual assault examiners and DNA experts.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Defense lawyers’ requests could further delay Anthony Patterson trial
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