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| Doug Patterson, the former Limestone County district judge, was sentenced on Dec. 8, 2020 to four years in prison. |
By William Thornton
A Limestone County woman says she has forgiven a convicted judge who still owes $25,000 from her father’s conservatorship account.
“It’s the only way I can release myself,” Jessica Hardy told WHNT.
Doug Patterson, a former Limestone County district judge, was sentenced last week to four years in prison. Patterson, 38, pleaded guilty in October to felony charges of using his position for personal gain, financial exploitation of the elderly and theft.
Hardy’s conservatorship account had roughly $47,000 dollars siphoned off over a six-year period, including $6,000 in one day, the station reported. Patterson already repaid about $22,000 of the money that was stolen from Hardy’s father, the veteran Charles Hardy, who has since died.And that’s not all. Hardy told the station that complications continued when she made a call to the hospital to see if she could visit her dying father, a former marine.
“The nurse was like, ‘Well, Doug Patterson told me he didn’t have any family.’ I was like, ‘What!?’” Hardy said.
Her disabled mother suggested she search for answers. “I was like, Momma, I’m poor. I can’t afford no lawyer. I can’t go against no judge,” Hardy said. Eventually, she heard from the Attorney General’s office.
Patterson
stole nearly $73,000 from a juvenile court fund and two of his former
legal clients. Prosecutors said he wrote 70 checks to himself from the
court fund, which he oversaw as a district judge. He has been ordered to
repay the stolen money by Dec. 1, 2029 — about five years after he is
to be released from prison.
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