GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 72-year-old Gainesville man, Melvin Jerome Patterson, was arrested yesterday after police said he allegedly sexually assaulted his housemate, threatened her with a dagger-style knife, and stopped her from leaving his room.
According to the Gainesville Police Department, the woman told an officer that she and Patterson live in the same residence but sleep in separate bedrooms. She said she entered Patterson’s bedroom shortly after midnight on August 31 to watch television when he began trying to have sex with her. The woman reportedly told him at least twice that she did not want to have sex. Police said Patterson then noticed a pocket knife in her bra, told her he had a weapon too, and pulled a large dagger-like blade from beside his bed. While holding the knife, he allegedly told her she was not leaving the room and threatened to cut her head off.
The woman 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 allegedly followed her there and raped her a second time. She told officers she again stayed quiet out of fear and did not consent to sex.
The woman 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 woman reportedly told them Patterson had a knife in his pocket, though police said no knife was found on him. Patterson allegedly made an unsolicited statement claiming the sex was consensual and allowed officers to search his bedroom. During the search, officers found a large dagger-style blade between Patterson’s bed and nightstand, positioned where it would have been within easy reach from the bed.
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Post Miranda, Patterson reportedly said again that he’d had consensual sexual intercourse with the victim, both in his bedroom and in her bedroom; however, he would not provide any details about how the acts were initiated or consent was obtained. He later reportedly decided to wait for a lawyer before answering more questions.
Patterson reportedly told officers that the victim has frequently made false allegations about him to law enforcement, but he acknowledged that she only once accused him of sexual battery: in a 1996 case, Patterson was arrested for sexual battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and battery against the same victim, and he was 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.