A Catholic priest who tried to lure a 14-year-old girl into his car as she was walking home from school in Vancouver’s Image neighborhood was sentenced Monday to four months in jail. He may be able to serve the sentence through the Clark County Jail’s work release program, however.
Michael T. Patrick, who wore his priest collar to court, was not taken into custody following the hearing. He plans to travel to Sri Lanka to visit his dying mother, according to his attorney.
Patrick, the former pastor of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Scappoose, Ore., turned 60 on Monday. He previously entered a guilty plea in Clark County Superior Court to attempted luring, but he was initially charged with luring in connection with the 2014 incident.
Despite entering the guilty plea, Patrick denies the conduct.
“I didn’t do this. I’m not the person you are looking for,” he told the judge during sentencing.
The teen was walking west on Northeast 28th Street near 138th Avenue on March 10, 2014, when she noticed a man looking at her “strangely” from inside a blue 2007 Honda Pilot that was traveling east on 28th Street, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.
A short time later, the vehicle passed her again, she said, but this time it was headed west on the street. The vehicle then pulled over in the bike lane, and the driver opened the window and told her to get inside, the affidavit said.
The girl told the driver “no” and began walking faster. The man, later identified by police as Patrick, drove alongside her, asking her several more times if she wanted a ride, according to court records. She declined each time. Patrick continued to follow her as she turned north on Northeast 132nd Avenue, court records said.
Patrick said, “Come on, cutie,” according to court documents, which alarmed the girl and prompted her to run to an in-home day care center on the east side of the street. There, she called her mother.
Her mother told police that the girl was crying and sounded frightened. The girl waited at the residence until the man drove away, then ran home, the affidavit said. Vancouver police located Patrick the same day, based on his license plate number. He denied the accusations.
Police brought the girl to the front of his Vancouver residence, and she identified him as the man who had attempted to lure her, according to court records. She said he was still in the clothes he had worn earlier when he spoke to her.
Patrick was arrested April 2, 2014, on a warrant at Los Angeles International Airport when he re-entered the United States after a trip to Australia. He was then extradited to Clark County.
Victim speaks
During sentencing, several people attended to support Patrick — some brought prayer beads and Bibles.
Deputy Prosecutor Erin Culver asked the judge to sentence Patrick to six months in jail and 12 months’ bench probation. She said Patrick has credit for 23 days in custody.
Patrick’s defense attorney, Thomas Phelan, maintained his client’s innocence and told the judge that Patrick has been punished enough. The 23 days Patrick spent in jail were horrifying for him, Phelan said.
He asked that Patrick be given credit for time served and have no probation. It’s likely that Patrick will no longer be allowed to carry out his ministry duties, Phelan added.
David Renshaw, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Portland, previously told The Columbian that Patrick is not assigned to a parish and has not been since his arrest. Patrick’s status will not change, he said, while the archdiocese investigates him.
The victim and her mother were present during Patrick’s sentencing, and both read a statement.
“I heard you say that the 23 days (in custody) were terrifying for you. But imagine being a 14-year-old girl walking home, having a strange man she’s never seen before ask her to get into his car,” the victim told Patrick.
He is supposed to be someone people can trust, she said. Learning that the man who tried to take her is a priest, she said, shattered her ideas about faith.
Judge Gregory Gonzales sentenced Patrick to four months in jail but granted him the opportunity to serve the sentence through work release. Patrick was additionally sentenced to 12 months of bench probation and was given credit for the 23 days in custody.
