Decision on if charges will be filed still weeks away
Morgan Hill – More information needed – that’s the decision of Victoria Brown, supervisor for the District Attorney’s sexual assault team after reviewing the case prepared by Morgan Hill police detectives involving former Sobrato High football coach Jeff Patterson.
Detectives took the case to Brown Thursday, but MHPD Cmdr. Joe Sampson said Monday she had asked for further investigation, again.
“Sometimes the D.A. will have specific questions that they want asked, or they may feel something is not as clear as they need it to be,” he said. “They want a really solid case, either way, if there is information that warrants charges or if there is not.”
Patterson has not been charged, but is no longer teaching math at Sobrato or coaching the football team.Â
The case involves an allegation by a 17-year-old female Sobrato student that Patterson “urged” her to forge a note to get out of class, then picked her up on Burnett Avenue, drove to the UPS store then drove to another location where she performed oral sex on him.
Patterson has not commented on the allegation. His lawyer, Larry Biegel, has said he would only comment after the D.A. reached a decision.
The alleged incident occurred Nov. 4 and was reported to the police by the girl’s father Nov. 8. Police took their case to Brown at the end of November, and she requested more information in early December. MHPD detectives have continued to investigate the allegation, finally taking the case back to Brown again Thursday.Â
“I think we’re looking at another three to four weeks,” Sampson said Monday. “In a case of this kind, that’s very typical. You may find out in interviews, for example, something that you didn’t find out the first time around, and then you have to go back and look into that. For example, someone might mention they had talked to someone, someone they didn’t mention in earlier interviews, and then you have to contact this new person and talk to them.”
