THOMASVILLE -- The little girl might suffer lifelong complications from the spring 2004 ordeal during which she was sodomized.

She was four at the time of the April 27, 2004, incident. The perpetrator was 14.

Lorenzo Jerome Patterson was to stand trial Monday on charges of aggravated sodomy, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, aggravated child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes and criminal damage to government property.

On Friday morning, the boy, now 15, entered guilty pleas to sodomy, battery and criminal damage. Other charges were nolle-prossed.

On the sodomy plea, Superior Court Judge Harry Jay Altman sentenced Patterson to life in prison, on the battery 20 years consecutive, and five years concurrent on the criminal damage.

The petite child weighed 34 pounds at the time of the crime. Her assailant weighed 150 pounds.

Justice for the young victim is what Thomasville police were after. "That's our No. 1 concern," said Thomasville Police Department (TPD) Detective Wade Glover.

At the time of the crimes, Patterson lived on Hopkins Street with several relatives. The victim was at the residence being tended by Patterson's aunt.

Patterson pulled the little girl into a wooded area behind the residence and sodomized her, police said Friday shortly after the plea.

"Injuries were so severe she required three operations and an extended period of time to recover," said Capt. Troy Rich, commander of the TPD Criminal Investigations Division.

The child "is doing fine," police said, adding that the little girl has a great spirit and attitude.

"She is going through counseling for this," Rich explained.

The child was prepared to testify at the trial. Jury selection was scheduled for Monday morning.

Even though Patterson is a juvenile, he has been treated as an adult in the case.

Rich and Glover said the district attorney's office, including victims advocate Karen Bishop, and Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents worked tirelessly on all aspects of the crimes.

"They worked vigorously on this case," Glover said.

Patterson is being held at a state prison near Milledgeville.

After he assaulted a guard at the Loftiss Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC) in Thomasville, he was moved to a similar facility in Albany, where he assaulted two guards, before going to the Middle Georgia prison.

"He kicked out the patrol car window during transport to the RYDC," Rich said about Patterson's initial trip to the Loftiss facility and the criminal damage charge.

The commander said Patterson will be eligible for parole after serving 14 years of the life sentence. If denied parole, he will be eligible again every eight years.



Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 220.