Man Returned From Texas To Riverside To Face Sexual Assault Charges

RIVERSIDE – A 20-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting two classmates at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside and another woman had his arraignment postponed for another month today.
Thailar Christian Patterson was arrested in Texarkana, Texas, on Monday and extradited back to Riverside County to face charges of sexually assaulting three victims in 2018-19, according to the Riverside Police Department.
Patterson faces four felony counts each of rape by force and assault causing great bodily injury as well as one felony count each of unlawful penetration and oral copulation by force. He is also charged with a sentence-enhancing allegation of sexual offenses on more than one victim.
He was initially scheduled to appear for arraignment Wednesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, but had it rescheduled for Dec. 21.
Patterson is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
Police began the investigation into Patterson after receiving a report from a teenager that a former classmate had sexually assaulted her almost three years ago.
The alleged victim said the crimes occurred multiple times over the 2018-19 school year when Patterson was a senior, though his age at the time was not disclosed.
Authorities eventually learned of two more potential victims, one another classmate, who made similar allegations.
An arrest warrant was obtained and issued for Patterson, now 20, who was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force.
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City News Service (CNS)