Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 72-year-old Gainesville man, identified as Melvin Jerome Patterson, was arrested yesterday after police said he sexually assaulted his housemate, threatened her with a dagger-style knife, and kept her from leaving.
According to the victim’s statement to a Gainesville Police Department officer, she and Patterson live in the same residence but sleep in separate bedrooms. She told police she entered Patterson’s room shortly after midnight on August 31 to watch television when he began trying to initiate sex. The victim said she told him at least twice that she did not want to have sexual intercourse. She reported that Patterson then noticed a pocket knife in her bra, told her he had a weapon of his own, and pulled a large dagger-like blade from beside his bed. While holding the knife, he allegedly told her she would not be leaving the room and threatened to cut off her head.
The victim told police Patterson raped her while she remained silent because she feared for her safety. Afterward, she said she returned to her own bedroom, but Patterson followed her there and raped her again. She told investigators she again did not speak up out of fear, but she did not consent to sex.
Police said the victim also reported a third assault, saying Patterson came up behind her while she was in the kitchen and raped her again.
When officers arrived at the home, the victim reportedly told them Patterson had a knife in his pocket. Officers did not find a knife on him, but Patterson allegedly made an unsolicited statement that he had engaged in consensual sex with the victim. He allowed officers to search his bedroom, where they found a large dagger-style blade between his bed and nightstand, a location police noted would have placed it within easy reach from the bed.
After being read his Miranda rights, Patterson reportedly repeated that the sexual intercourse was consensual and said it occurred in both his bedroom and the victim’s bedroom. However, police said he did not provide details about how the encounters began or how consent was given. He later told officers he wanted to wait for an attorney before answering additional questions.
Patterson reportedly claimed the victim has often made false reports about him to law enforcement, though he acknowledged she had accused him of sexual battery only once before. In that 1996 case, involving the same victim, Patterson was arrested on charges of sexual battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and battery. He was ultimately adjudicated guilty of aggravated assault and battery.
The officer concluded that the consistency between the stories of Patterson and the victim about the sexual incidents, along with the presence of the dagger-like blade at his bedside, provided probable cause that the victim had been forced to engage in non-consensual sexual intercourse.
Patterson has been charged with sexual battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and false imprisonment. He has nine felony convictions (three violent) and 17 misdemeanor convictions (three violent), and he has served seven state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2005. Judge Joy Danne ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
