Sex offender violation leads to increased tether term

Jeffrey Allen Patterson, left, with his attorney, David Glancy.

By Allison Scarbrough. Contributing Editor.

LUDINGTON — A 32-year-old Ludington man who violated sex offender registration obligations received an extension on his tether term and extended probation in 51st Circuit Court Tuesday, March 10.

Jeffrey Allen Patterson, 32, of 3763 W. Hidden Forest Dr., Ludington, was arrested July 23 by the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.

Patterson’s conviction is his second felony conviction and his fifth offense of sex offender registration violation, said Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola. Patterson has proven to be difficult to supervise, he said. The prosecutor said Patterson’s violation was “technical in nature” because he “failed to report a change in employment.”

Patterson’s attorney David Glancy agreed that the violation was a technical matter, adding that it was not intentional. He asked for a suspended sentence for his client.

“Your Honor, I have not always been an upstanding citizen,” Patterson said to Judge Susan Sniegowski. “The person who sits in front of you today is a different person than what you read in the paperwork. The person you might read about in this paperwork was a terrible person.” Patterson said he had served five years in prison.

Sniegowski ordered a one-year discretionary  jail sentence with credit for one day served; increased his tether monitoring from 120 days to 150 days; extended his probation term to two years, which is an additional six months; and $498 in fines and costs. “If you’re back here in front me, I’m going to remember I cut you some slack today,” Sniegowski said.