Windermere police investigate sexual battery

WINDERMERE — Windermere Police Department detectives executed a search warrant last week on a home occupied by a suspect in a string of sexual batteries.

The warrant was served April 30 at a home in the 10000 block of Bayshore Drive. 

According to police reports, Detective John Allen has been investigating three sexual batteries and one attempted sexual battery recorded on video by Darryl Patterson, the person who lives at the home. Allen’s investigation revealed that Patterson had performed sexual acts on three female victims while they were incapacitated.

Reports of the incidents surfaced in 2012, and the most recent attempted sexual battery occurred in February or March and was reported to Allen April 18. In that incident, a victim had taken two alcoholic drinks from Patterson and became nauseated and semi-conscious. At that point, Patterson tried to force himself on the victim, according to reports.

Patterson had reported a fraud incident to Allen and met with him Dec. 29, 2014. After that meeting, Officer Jeff Czwornog informed Allen of an investigation into these incidents by former Windermere Sgt. Gene Powell. Powell had closed the investigation without identifying victims or determining their state, at the request of former Lt. Arthur Mueller. 

Mueller said he had never seen the footage, prepared any reports or reviewed any reports from Powell on the incidents. This led to Allen reopening an investigation after finding video evidence in Windermere Police Department storage.

“We recovered a lot of evidentiary items,” Police Chief Dave Ogden said. “We’re really going through everything methodically to make sure we get things right.”

Allen’s investigation of footage revealed that all victims appeared unconscious through most or all of the encounters and that one struggled to push Patterson away. The witness who provided the video footage — initially to Orange County Sheriff’s Office on July 28, 2012 — had taken the cassettes and other items when she moved from Patterson’s residence. 

Patterson did not identify the victims but told Allen he had never drugged anyone and that the incidents involved consensual sex.

A second witness said she had met Patterson at an NFL Players’ Association function and that he had offered her whiskey shots. Patterson took her to his residence, where she struggled to maintain consciousness and attempted to push him away as he tried to engage in sexual activity, which she refused, she said. Around 4 a.m., she awoke in his bed and requested her clothes. She dressed and left, with Patterson saying nothing had happened. Bruises later appeared on her legs.

Police have released sketches of two women they say are sex assault victims of Patterson from 2012. Police said they haven’t been able to identify the women.

“We want to continue to look to identify those individuals and encourage victims of sexual assault or sexual battery to come forward,” Ogden said.

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].