The man accused in the beating death of Adrian Peterson’s 2-year-old son had previously been accused of abusing a 3-year-old.
The Argus Leader reports that Joseph Robert Patterson had previously been given a suspended sentence on two domestic abuse cases, one involving an assault on a woman he was previously involved with, and another involving an assault on that woman’s child.
Patterson was given a one-year jail term for each of those two charges, but the jail time was suspended on the condition he attend domestic violence counseling.
Now Patterson is charged with aggravated assault on an infant in the beating of Peterson’s son. Additional charges are possible now that Peterson’s son has died.