The man accused in the death of the 2-year-old son of Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was back in court Thursday, but this time relating to charges he attacked the boy’s mother, The Associated Press reports.
Joseph Patterson, 28, pleaded not guilty in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to aggravated assault and kidnapping. He’s accused of attacking the woman and holding her against her will for over an hour.
According to the Argus Leader, authorities say he went to the woman’s apartment one morning last month and terrorized her, choking her twice and causing her once to lose consciousness. Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan said police found evidence of the assault, and “the victim had ligature marks on her neck,” the Argus Leader reported.
The judge in the case set Patterson’s bond at $1 million.
Before he was charged with attacking the woman, Patterson had been free on $750,000 bond pending his October trial on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, child abuse, and aggravated battery of an infant in the death of Peterson’s son, 2-year-old Tyrese Robert Ruffin.
According to reports, Patterson was living with the boy and the boy’s mother last fall, and on Oct. 9, he called 911 to report that the child wasn’t breathing. The toddler died hours later in the hospital. Prosecutors have said the boy had head injuries consistent with abuse.
The trial in that case is scheduled for October.
Patterson’s trial in connection with the assault and kidnapping charges has been been set for September, the Argus Leader reports.
