Former Florence City Manager at center of sexual harassment scandal sentenced to 2 years of supervised probation
FLORENCE, Colo. (KRDO) -- The former Florence City Manager at the center of a city hall sexual harassment scandal was sentenced to two years of supervised probation.
The criminal charges are related to his behavior with women he supervised at Florence City hall.
In October, Mike Patterson pleaded guilty to a charge of misdemeanor harassment and another misdemeanor charge of providing alcohol to a minor after striking a deal with prosecutors in the 4th Judicial District Attorney's office.
Before taking a plea deal last fall, Patterson faced a total of six charges, including two felony and four misdemeanor charges. He pleaded not guilty to all six criminal charges in August. Prosecutors dismissed the two felony stalking, misdemeanor sexual contact with no consent, and misdemeanor harassment charges in exchange for his guilty plea.
Patterson, who was Florence's city manager for a decade, first captured headlines when a warrant was issued and he was arrested at the Denver International Airport in November 2021.
The former Florence City council fired Patterson in August 2021 for sexual harassment. 13 Investigates found that Patterson's employment contract did not require him to follow the city's policy that prohibited sexual harassment. We spoke with three women who accused Patterson of sexually harassing them while on the job and the city government of enabling his misconduct for years.
Since 2019, records show that the City of Florence has settled three lawsuits from former employees accusing Patterson of sexual harassment for a total of $444,000. The settlements were paid out to victims by the City of Florence's insurance providers after elected leaders agreed to pay insurance deductibles.
Before his sentencing, a victim impact statement was read. In it, the victim detailed her experience with Patterson while working for the City of Florence. The statement detailed accusations that Patterson made flirtatious gestures, put her in manipulating situations, and eventually propositioned her for sex.
Additionally, the statement thanked 13 Investigates for its reporting, saying:
"While I was hesitant to communicate with her at first, she appeared to be the only person listening. Chelsea Brentzel had begun to uncover things about Mr. Patterson on the news and shortly thereafter information about Police Chief Prickett and suddenly many things were brought to light."
The statement ended by saying:
"Your honor I am asking you to impose a firm sentence and at the very least order supervised treatment for Mr. Patterson and any financial relief you feel appropriate. Doing so will not only bring some much-needed relief, peace and healing to myself, my family and other victims, but may also give Mr. Patterson some tools to help him become a better person."
Prosecutors asked he is sentenced to two years of supervised probation with offense-specific treatment. However, he would not be a registered sex offender.
The defense challenged that sentence, asking for standard supervised probation.
Patterson apologized, saying he was sorry for his "conduct" and that he would never "put himself or others in this position again."
"I admire Ms. Ardrey's commitment to proceeding and getting as much attention as she could to the matter so that the whole system would be changed hopefully in the future for employees just to be able to go to work without having to deal with employers' bad behavior to be employed. That's just deplorable," 11th Judicial District Judge Lynette Wenner said.
He was ultimately sentenced to two years of supervised probation and to comply with all standard conditions. He must continue mental health treatment until deemed appropriate for discharge, complete letters of apology to all victims, complete cognitive behavior program and comply with any recommended treatment.
13 Investigates will have much more on this major development tonight at 4, 5, and 6 on KRDO NewsChannel 13.
