Michael Joseph Patterson, otherwise known as jon_raven2000 was a predator caught in the Bowling Green, Kentucky installment of To Catch a Predator. He is best known for being chased through the sting house after being unsuccessfully tased by law enforcement.
Biography[]
Prior to the sting operation, Patterson was a reserve police officer in Lebron, Indiana, who was fired for using police car lights to pull someone over, impersonating an on-duty officer.
Patterson drove 5 hours away from Kouts, Indiana to the sting house in Bowling Green, Kentucky to meet up with a girl he believed to be 13-years-old. Within 2 hours of being acquainted with the decoy online, he drives to her house and talks to her over the phone on the way. During the conversation, he discloses that he carries a gun with him everywhere, so the sting team gave the decoy special instructions to make sure he was unarmed upon arrival. The decoy gives a series of verbal commands to Patterson to prove that he is unarmed, and he does so without suspecting a thing. Once he enters the house, he admires the home and falsely tells the decoy that he's a detective lieutenant. After disclosing this, he is greeted by Chris Hansen, who exercises his own detective skills and asks Patterson why he's there. Patterson cites his loneliness and his ongoing divorce as reasons to attempt to commit statutory rape.
After chuckling at hearing some of his chat log lines, he is let go by Hansen, only to come face to face with a group of police officers (who are advised by their superiors to act more swiftly than usual due to the earlier suspicion of him being potentially armed).
Patterson, upon seeing the officers, freezes and the officers shoot him with a taser gun as a result of trying to get ratings for NBC. Only one of the prods of the taser connects with Patterson's body, which allowed him to run through the house without being electrocuted. Afterwards, he is quickly ambushed from all sides and taken down.
Aftermath[]
On June 11, 2008, Patterson was convicted of Traveling In Interstate Commerce For The Purpose Of Engaging In A Sexual Act With A Minor. He received 7 years in federal prison and 10 years supervised release. He also received three years and ten months by the state of Kentucky. Both sentences were served concurrently.
In 2011 Patterson represented himself in a civil lawsuit against NBC Universal, Inc., asking for $40,000,000 each in monetary and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief in the form of having all information about him taken off television and NBC's website. Patterson's allegations include:
- He was "lured" to the sting house, and that the decoy took advantage of his "vulnerability".
- NBC Universal, Inc.'s "libel, slander and defamatory statements" have caused him mental and emotional stress and ruined his reputation.
- NBC Universal, Inc.'s participation in his arrest and search violated his constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment.
- State law claims for intentional disclosure of private facts, intrusion on the right to be left alone, harassment/intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.
- NBC Universal, Inc. is liable for violating the "Journalistic Code of Ethics."
Patterson’s complaint was entirely void of any factual allegations regarding his claim for negligence, and the case was dismissed.
Trivia[]
- He is the only tased predator to withstand the taser shot before being taken down.