Accused molester denied reduced bail

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint facing trial on two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child was denied reduced bail on Thursday.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson moved for a reduction in Shardan Cody Patterson’s bail, arguing that he has family ties to the area and is not a flight risk. Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall objected to any reduction, contending that Patterson’s family ties do not negate the flight risk.

First District Judge Steve Verby declined to reduce Patterson’s $150,000 bail, court records show.

Patterson, 26, is accused of molesting a 3-year-old boy in 2010 and repeatedly molesting a girl from 2003 to 2009, when she was between the ages of 8 and 15 years old. He’s also charged with possession of methamphetamine.

Patterson waived his right to preliminary hearings and pleaded not guilty to all the charges, clearing the way for two separate lewd-conduct trials in 1st District Court this fall.