A Fort Worth jury on Wednesday handed Anthony Ryan Patterson a 33-year prison sentence for child sex crimes and child trafficking.
Seventy-eighth District Judge Meredith Kennedy stacked four of the five sentences for Patterson at the prosecutor’s request. Patterson must also register as a sex offender.
According to online jail records, the 48-year-old was being held at the Tarrant County Corrections Center on Wednesday pending transfer to jail.
The former Wichita Falls business leader has been jailed for three crimes committed against a 10-year-old and one crime against her 8-year-old sister in late 2017.
Anthony Ryan Patterson checks in on his family after being taken into custody by a judge following his sentencing Tuesday. Patterson had been found guilty in a Fort Worth courtroom of five charges related to sexual abuse and child trafficking.
They were taken from Vernon, allegedly by a sex worker, to Patterson in Wichita Falls. Only the older sister went to the Patterson house for the second time. This trip was the source of most of Patterson’s convictions and prison sentences.
On Wednesday afternoon, the jury returned these criminal verdicts for Patterson:
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18 years for sexual performance by a child under 14 years of age. The incident took place on December 23, 2017 and the victim was the 10-year-old girl.
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Ten years in prison for trafficking a child for sexual activities. That was on the same date in 2017 with the same 10-year-old victim.
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Five years for indecency with a child when exposed on December 23, 2017. The victim was the 10-year-old.
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Five years for indecency with a child by exposure on November 18, 2017. The victim was 8.
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Five years for indecency with a child by exposure on November 18, 2017. The victim was 10 years old.
The legal system does not allow ten-year sentences for child trafficking to be stacked so that they will run concurrently with the other sentences.
Anthony Patterson will be taken to jail Tuesday at the end of the first day of the penalty phase of his trial. Patterson was found guilty in a Fort Worth courtroom of five charges related to sexual abuse and child trafficking.
No fines were imposed as part of his sentence. Patterson faced up to life in prison for child trafficking and sexual performance and fines of up to $10,000 for each count. Indecency with a child carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Kennedy on Wednesday affirmed Patterson’s right to appeal, which is typically a routine matter in cases that are not determined by a settlement. One of his attorneys, Michael Mowla of Dallas, is known for his expertise in criminal appeals.
Jury selection for the trial began on October 29 and the jury was selected on October 31. The testimonies began on November 4.
More: Before the verdicts, lawyers appeal to logic and emotion in the trial against Anthony Patterson
Anthony Patterson’s sister, Ashley Sells, holds her mother, Brenda Patterson, after her brother was handcuffed and taken into custody Tuesday. Patterson was found guilty in a Fort Worth courtroom of five charges related to sexual abuse and child trafficking.
This week, jurors returned a guilty verdict on five charges against Patterson on Tuesday afternoon after several hours of deliberation that began around noon on Monday and continued when the trial reconvened on Tuesday.
He was charged with thirteen charges, all related to child abuse and trafficking. The jury of eight men and four women found him not guilty of eight of these charges.
More: Anthony Patterson: A Timeline
The penalty phase of the trial began shortly after their verdicts on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday.
Attorneys for Patterson, scion of a prominent local family, successfully tried to move the trial from Wichita County to Tarrant County because the case generated so much interest.
For more information on this developing story, visit www.timesrecordnews.com.
More: ‘I was scared’: Victim testifies in child sex trafficking trial of Anthony Patterson
More: A ‘shock nod’: Jurors hear case against Anthony Patterson as child sex trafficking trial begins
Trish Choate is interim editor for Wichita Falls Times Record News, San Angelo Standard-Times and Abilene Reporter-News. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @TriShapeia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Jury reaches sentencing verdicts in Anthony Patterson trial
