Texas’ Second Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday turned down Anthony Patterson’s attempt to get a new trial.
Patterson, a former Wichita Falls automobile dealer, was convicted on Nov. 4, 2024, on three counts of indecency with a child, one count of sexual performance by a child, and one count of trafficking of persons.
He was sentenced to 33 years in prison.
In June 2025, Austin Attorney Keith Hampton filed an appeal, claiming convictions on three of the charges were a violation of double jeopardy laws, there was no legally sufficient evidence on another charge, that introduction of a letter by another defendant in the case violated Patterson’s rights, and that the use of a forensic interviewer was an error.
The appeals court overruled all the issues and affirmed the conviction delivered in the 78th District Court.
Patterson is the son of the late businessman and philanthropist Harry Patterson. Commenting on the ruling, Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie said, “Anyone in Wichita County knew the prominence, wealth, and power of his family.”
Gillespie said Anthony Patterson had built a “dream team” for the trial and subsequent appeal.
Hampton had won a new trial for James Staley III, scion of another prominent family, who was convicted in 2023 of killing a 2-year-old child.
“It took a team of the DA’s Office, the FBI, the Texas Rangers, and the Wichita Falls PD working together to build a case that would stand up,” Gillespie said.
Gillespie said he was especially thankful that the children who were the victims in the case would not have to testify again in a new trial.
Patterson was convicted of incidents that occurred in 2017 involving two girls, 8 and 10, supplied to Patterson by a sex worker. The trial was moved to a Fort Worth courtroom on a change of venue.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Court turns down Anthony Patterson’s appeal
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
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