Suspect faces another lewd conduct charge

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint man accused of molesting a three-year-old boy has been charged with repeatedly molesting another youngster in Bonner County.

Shardan Cody Patterson was charged with a another count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor on Friday. Judge Barbara Buchanan sustained Patterson’s $100,000 bail and forbid him from having any contact with minors if he bonds out of the Bonner County Jail.

The new complaint alleges that Patterson molested a girl from 2003 to 2009, when she was between the ages of 8 and 15 years old.

Last month, Patterson was charged with molesting a 3-year-old boy in 2010 and possession of methamphetamine on the day of his arrest.

Sheriff’s detectives began investigating Patterson in 2010, but he was not prosecuted at the time because the child was too young to testify, according to court documents. Patterson later relocated to Grand Forks, N.D., but returned to Idaho after being accused of molesting a young girl there.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said he does not believe Patterson has been formally charged in North Dakota and is awaiting a police report from that jurisdiction. Marshall said the girl in that case disclosed misconduct to her mother, who alerted authorities.

Patterson, 26, allegedly fled North Dakota to escape those allegations, but went from the frying pan and into the fire upon his return to Idaho.

Following his arrest last month, detectives executed a search warrant at Patterson’s apartment in the 400 block of South First Avenue. A computer, mobile phones, storage devices were seized during the search.

An array of photographs and video recordings were also collected, although their contents were not disclosed in court documents. The search also turned up a young girl’s shirt and underwear, court records indicate.

A preliminary hearing in the original Bonner County case is set for today in magistrate court. A preliminary hearing on the newest case is pending.