A former Amarillo and Canyon ISD teacher was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact.
Patrick Kenneth Farmer, 59, received 20 years in prison on each count. Judge Ana Estevez ordered the sentences to run consecutively, meaning Farmer will serve one 20-year sentence followed by the other.
The offenses occurred Dec. 18, 2000, and May 17, 2003.
During Tuesday’s punishment hearing in Randall County, prosecutors called several witnesses, including a victim who testified under a pseudonym. Farmer also took the stand before Estevez imposed the sentence.
Farmer was not required to testify. Wearing red Randall County Detention Center clothing and shackled at his hands and feet, Farmer was questioned by his attorney, T.D. Hammons.
When Hammons asked whether the events described by the victims during their testimony happened “basically as they said,” Farmer responded, “Yes, sir.”
Under cross-examination by Randall County Assistant District Attorney Sarah Scrivner, Farmer also acknowledged inappropriately touching each of the victims who testified.
Scrivner questioned Farmer about the possibility of additional victims during the years he acknowledged molesting girls.
“I was around a lot of little girls. Potentially there could have been more touching,” Farmer said.
“You are telling this court that there could be more victims?” Scrivner asked.
“Potentially, yes,” Farmer replied.
After the sentencing, Scrivner described Farmer as a “prolific offender” and said she hoped the sentence would provide some peace to the victims, including any potential victims who have never reported what happened.
She also encouraged people to report sexual abuse regardless of how much time has passed.
“Even if it’s been 20 years, even if it’s been, you know, however long–if they still come forward, I think we can still do something to make our community safer,” Scrivner said.
“If there are more victims of Patrick Farmer or of anyone else, they still absolutely can come forward. They still absolutely can call APD,” she added. “I’m hoping it does close a door for a lot of people, but it doesn’t mean the door is closed to anything in the future. If there are more victims, they can absolutely still report.”
One of the Randall County victims said after the hearing that they were more than pleased with the sentence and were “grateful to the judge for allowing all of us to have a voice.”
The court also issued a protective order.
Farmer testifies about his past
Much of Farmer’s testimony focused on his history working around children and his life following an earlier criminal case.
Farmer testified that before his 2006 sentencing, he had worked with children through several organizations and schools. He said those included Kids, Inc., beginning in 1989; the Amarillo Soccer Association; Lakeview Elementary; West Plains Junior High; San Jacinto Christian Academy; Sleepy Hollow Elementary; and Paramount Baptist Church.
Canyon ISD has said Farmer taught at Lakeview Elementary during the 2000-01 school year. Amarillo ISD said he resigned as a substitute teacher in August 1993. His Texas teaching certificate was revoked in 2007.
Farmer previously pleaded guilty in Randall County in 2006 to four counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact and received six years of deferred adjudication probation.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Farmer testified that he completed everything required by the court during those six years, including a sex offender treatment program. He said he has continued registering quarterly as a sex offender as required.
Farmer said he also completed 300 hours of community service for each of the two counts involved in the 2006 case, for a total of 600 hours. He said much of that time was spent weeding and cleaning stalls at the Tri-State Fairgrounds.
Farmer testified that after completing deferred adjudication, he worked as a land surveyor and operated a lawn mowing business. He said he also became the primary caretaker for his wife and actively avoided places where children were present.
Farmer said his only interaction with law enforcement since 2012 involved a car accident.
He also described an incident involving his attendance at an adult singles group at Amarillo South church. Farmer testified that he believed he had permission to attend in person, but his probation officer had not received a required letter from church leadership approving his attendance. Adult probation officers who were at the church alerted his probation officer, according to Farmer. He said no additional disciplinary action resulted.
Since his arrest in 2024, Farmer said he has attended First Baptist Church online. He testified that his Christian faith remains important to him and that he believes he has received forgiveness from God.
Additional Potter County charges pending
Farmer still faces separate criminal charges in Potter County.
A Potter County grand jury indicted him in 2024 on two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact. That case involves allegations that Farmer sexually touched a former student in 1993 while he was her teacher.
Those charges remain pending and are separate from the Randall County case in which Farmer was sentenced Tuesday.
Farmer was also the subject of a civil lawsuit involving Paramount Baptist Church, where he worked from 1995 to 2004. The lawsuit, which was settled in 2009, alleged that Farmer behaved inappropriately around children and that complaints about his conduct were ignored, including a warning from a former employee that he should not be allowed to work with children.
Tuesday’s 40-year sentence came more than two decades after the offenses at the center of the latest Randall County case.
For Scrivner, the passage of time underscored a message she said she hopes other victims will hear: reporting years later can still lead to a criminal case.
