A Cleveland handyman, known to many on the east side as "Apples," will spend the next 35 years to life in prison for raping three women. Investigators connected him to two attacks through the testing of Cuyahoga County's old rape kits.
“I just want to say that over the last 20 years, my life has been kind of hectic, looking over my shoulder, wondering was this going to happen again," said one of Van Patterson's victims who will remain unidentified because she is a rape victim.
The woman punctuated her words with heavy sighs as she faced a county judge with Van Patterson behind her.
“Today I’m here for justice for me and all of the other ladies, praying that he gets what he deserves for doing what he did to me," she added.
Patterson raped the woman when she was 16 years old. The year was 1995. He also raped a 19-year-old woman in 1997 and a 27-year-old woman in 2009. In all three cases, he picked the women up in his car, then raped them.
Patterson also pleaded guilty in 2000 to sexual battery charges. His victim was a relative.
In 2008, Patterson was charged with failing to properly verify his address and was given six months probation.
“If you see a vulnerable woman on the street, I have no doubt you would prey on her," said Cuyahoga County Judge Brendan Sheehan.
Patterson is one of 162 serial rapists indicted by way of the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Task Force. The task force was launched in 2013 to investigate rape cases through the testing of old rape kits, done by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. It plans to finish up all of its investigations in the next two years.
“But for the testing of these rape cases, but for the police investigation of these cases, these crimes would go unsolved," added Sheehan.
