Prison for Patrick?

The law is fast catching up with Ted Patrick, the black San Diego-based religious bounty hunter who helps parents recapture and "deprogram" young people who have joined offbeat sects. In May, Patrick was convicted in Fullerton, Calif., for unlawfully imprisoning a 19-year-old Hare Krishna adherent. Last week he received his sentence: a 60-day jail term, which he will appeal. The California case could cause Patrick more trouble in Colorado; he was convicted on a charge of false imprisonment in Denver last year, but placed on probation and ordered not to practice his specialty on adult cultists without their consent.

After four years and a claimed 1,000 deprogrammings, Patrick's operation has become a sizable enterprise, with a network of 300 trained operatives. Although Patrick says that his take from the business is only about $10,000 a year, his services are not cheap. In the early days, he requested that his parent-clients cover only his costs. But now the bill for a Patrick deprogramming job can run as high as $25,000, including expenses and a fee.

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