Public Concern Leads to Housing Arrangements for Stevens Point Sex Offender

By Mike Leischner

STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — Public outcry has brought about a change in the release conditions for a sex offender in Portage County

Convicted sex offender Cody J. Patterson is set to be released from prison on Tuesday. Law enforcement initially noticed that he had declined housing and would be released as homeless, but many residents pushed back at that arrangement. That led city and state leaders to find transitional housing for Patterson on Water Street.

Representative Katrina Shankland said the public has a right to know where Patterson would be. “As it relates to this person being housed, we wanted to make sure people knew that address and that person was at that address.. and that there was GPS monitoring at all times,” said Shankland.

Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza also worked to line up housing for Patterson. Should he refuse the arrangement, he will not be released.

He’s also required to comply with GPS monitoring and maintain his address on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life. He also cannot have unsupervised contact with minors.

Patterson has been convicted of several crimes involving children, including the sexual assault of teens.