Alabama judge, 38, is sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to repay more than $72,000 after stealing from disabled veteran and a juvenile court fund
An Alabama judge has been sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to repay more than $72,000 after stealing from a disabled veteran and a juvenile court fund.
Douglas Lee Patterson, 38, pleaded guilty on October 30 to three felony charges: use of official position or office for personal gain, financial exploitation of the elderly in the first degree, and theft of property in the third degree.
The former Limestone County district judge, who resigned from his $10,800-per-month salary in July, was sentenced Tuesday.
He stole $47,800 from the Limestone County Juvenile Court Service Fund, designated to support the children of the area, and from late disabled veteran Charles Hardy. He was ordered to pay restitution totaling $72,822 to his victims.
It is not known what Patterson spent the money on; DailyMail.com has contacted the Attorney General's office for comment. When asked why he took the money Patterson told WBRC: 'I don't know.'
He earlier told the court he was 'deeply remorseful' and 'heartbreakingly sorry'. Judge Steven Haddock told him: 'Your apologies and expressions of remorse ring pretty hollow.'
Douglas Lee Patterson, 38, pleaded guilty on October 30 to three felony charges: use of official position or office for personal gain, financial exploitation of the elderly in the first degree, and theft of property in the third degree. The former Limestone County district judge, who resigned from his $10,800-per-month salary in July, was sentenced Tuesday
Prosecutors say Patterson wrote 70 checks from the Limestone County Juvenile Court Services Fund in his role as a judge, emptying the account.
Prior to that he admitted to stealing thousands from Hardy, who was living in a nursing home, in his role as private attorney. Hardy died in 2015 but Patterson has since repaid $22,000 to his daughter, AL.com reports.
In 2015 Patterson also stole $601 from Rudolph Allen three years after his death in 2015.
Patterson, pictured leaving court right, stole $47,800 from the Limestone County Juvenile Court Service Fund and from late disabled veteran Charles Hardy
Limestone county judge Robert Baker said Patterson's guilty plea 'were hardly the result of a moral epiphany, but rather his attempt to avoid trial which would have detailed his crimes and exposed other embarrassing details that he did not want made public'.
Attorney General Steve Marshall said: 'It is fitting that Patterson has received a stern sentence for his crimes and that we have brought a measure of justice for his victims.
'He betrayed the citizens of Limestone County and exploited those who trusted him, stealing from the most vulnerable among us – children, the disabled and the elderly.'
Patterson had been jailed for 16 years. The Attorney General's office said the sentence was 'split for him to serve four years in prison followed by six years of supervised probation'.
They added: 'Patterson is required to serve all of the four years in prison, and if he fails to abide by the terms of probation, he could be ordered to serve the remainder of the 16 years in prison.'
It is not known what Patterson spent the money on. When asked why he took the money Patterson told WBRC: 'I don't know'