Health

Officer found guilty after encouraging family to whip handcuffed 15-year-old with belt

Marcus Chen
Marcus Chen
Managing Editor · Monday, August 3, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Officer found guilty after encouraging family to whip handcuffed 15-year-old with belt — ABC 7 Suncoast SWFL, Naples Health news
Image: ABC 7 Suncoast SWFL

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WXIX/Gray News) - An Ohio police officer was found guilty of two counts of dereliction of duty after she encouraged and allowed a handcuffed 15-year-old to be whipped with a belt.Jamie Patterson, a Middletown police officer, was found guilty Thursday after a day-long bench trial. She was accused of allowing a handcuffed 15-year-old boy in her custody to be whipped with a belt by an adult inside the teen’s home Jan. 3, according to court records and Special Prosecutor Matthew Broo.Patterson faces anywhere from probation to up to 90 days in jail and a maximum $750 fine on each misdemeanor count when she is sentenced Aug. 25.Officer testifies she ‘acted in good faith’Patterson pleaded not guilty to the charges. Her lawyer unsuccessfully argued no laws were broken because the man who whipped the teen was never charged.Patterson cried at times when she took the stand in her own defense. She testified she thought she was helping the teen because “everyone around him was fai

Ad Space Available

mid-article · 728px

#city-hall#public-safety