Lewd conduct trial pending

SANDPOINT — A five-day trial is set for a Sandpoint man accused of molesting two children and possessing drugs.

Shardan Cody Patterson’s jury trial is slated to start on Feb. 11, 2013, in 1st District Court. Patterson is charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct, and possession of methamphetamine.

Patterson, 27, is being held at the Bonner County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Patterson is accused of molesting a Bonner County girl from 2003 to 2009, when she was between the ages of 8 and 15 years old. He’s also accused of molesting a 3-year-old boy in Bonner County in the spring of 2010.

The felony drug-possession charge stemmed from his arrest on the lewd conduct charges.

A computer, mobile phones and data storage devices were seized when investigators executed a search warrant at his Sandpoint apartment. An assortment of video recordings and photographs were also seized, although the contents are not disclosed in court records.

The search also turned up a young girl’s shirt and underwear, according to court documents.

Patterson allegedly fled Idaho upon learning of the lewd-conduct investigation, but returned after allegations arose that he molested a child in Grand Forks, N.D. The mother of the alleged victim in North Dakota told The Daily Bee that authorities declined to prosecute Patterson due to a lack of physical evidence.