Nortex Times

Wichita Falls businessman Anthony Patterson was arrested on May 20 and was indicted by a grand jury on six charges related to human trafficking. 

According to the Times Record News, Patterson was charged with three counts of human trafficking—including continuous human trafficking—and three counts of indecency with a child by exposure.

Patterson recently bonded out of jail in Wichita County, paying $400,000 total bond. Per the conditions of his release, Patterson will be monitored by GPS, prohibited from leaving Wichita Falls County and unable to have contact with anyone younger than 18. 

Anthony Patterson | Wichita County Jail

Patterson is being indicted and charged for allegedly trafficking and exposing himself to two children younger than 12. According to News Channel 6, the arrest comes after a joint investigation by the Texas Rangers, the FBI, the Wichita Falls Police Department, the Wichita County District Attorney’s Office investigators and the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Court documents indicate that Patterson is suspected of engaging in human trafficking and exposing two underage Vernon girls, ages 8 and 10, to indecent sex acts. According to the arrest affidavit, Wichita Falls police started investigating Patterson in December of 2017 on allegations of indecency with a child by exposure in Vernon. The charges, however, are dated for 2020.

The 44-year-old suspect resigned from his duties as president of Patterson Auto Group while serving jail time in early February. 

If convicted, Patterson could face a minimum of 25 years to life in prison. 

According to a 2016 University of Texas at Austin report, 78,996 minor and youth victims of human trafficking and 234,457 victims of labor trafficking are in Texas at any given time, totaling 313,453 victims of human trafficking.