TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A jury convicted a 65-year-old man of child molestation in a Tulare County Superior Courtroom Tuesday, according to the Tulare County District Attorney.
The District Attorney says Patrick McNeil, age 65, originally of Lindsay was convicted in a decades-old case.
According to the DA in 1993, Tulare County law enforcement began an investigation into McNeil after reports of inappropriate conduct with two minor females ages 9 and 14.
After McNeil provided a statement to law enforcement, he fled California and could not be located. Criminal charges were filed and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
According to officials in 2021, McNeil was arrested in Alabama for felony sex crimes against two victims. The DA says McNeil was brought back to Tulare County where he was convicted of 3 counts of forcible lewd act on a child under 14, one count of lewd act on a child age 14, and sexual penetration of a person under 16.
The crimes were alleged to have been committed from 1991 to 1993. The case in Alabama remains open
Sentencing is scheduled for March 6, 2023, in Department 17. Due to sentencing laws that existed in 1993, Officials say McNeil is facing a determinate term in state prison.