Convicted sex offender Melvin Platt’s suspended sentence was revoked Wednesday after a hearing where he said his prosecution for the assault of an ex-girlfriend impacted his mental health to the point of spurring a police chase that constituted the reason he is now headed to prison.
After serving two months of the suspended sentence in 2024, Platt is now set to spend four years and 10 months in custody.
Michele McElwee, the team leader for the the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office Special Victims Unit, outlined details of the car chase that saw Platt arrested again three weeks after his release. When Oklahoma City police attempted to stop Platt for driving with a stolen license plate, he led them on a chase that exceeded 100 miles per hour and ended on foot after he entered Quail Springs Mall.
McElwee said Platt “weaved” through heavy afternoon traffic and drew response from multiple police units, highway patrol and an Air One helicopter.
“Mr. Platt is very dangerous to take this high-speed chase at that time of day,” McElwee said.
Platt’s actions during the chase make him “not suitable for the community” McElwee said.
While Platt accepted responsibility for the chase, he said his actions resulted in no damages. He explained his distress over being “slandered,” and he said he was being followed by private investigators.
“It was a traumatic experience for me,” Platt said.
Scott Anderson, Platt’s attorney, asked District Court Judge Cindy Truong not to revoke his client’s suspended sentence in full because of Platt’s mental health concerns.
Christy de la Torre, who was assaulted in her home by Platt as he filmed the incident, delivered a victim’s impact statement to the court recounting her experience with the justice system, which said moved too slowly to revoke Platt’s sentence and review alleged evidence of other sex crimes.
Anderson questioned the relevance of de la Torre’s statement, arguing that her experience had nothing to do with the revocation hearing related to the police chase. Truong said “she’s still the victim” and allowed her to proceed.
“Melvin Platt has been given undeserved chances. He has been free for five years. He has committed additional crimes during these five years,” de la Torre said.
Anderson made 14 objections during de la Torre’s statement, ranging from the scope of the revocation, relevance, hearsay, characterization to speculation. De la Torre expressed her frustration with investigative delays, a lack of prosecution for Platt allegedly filming other women without consent and concern for additional women being victimized.
“I have had to work too hard to advocate for myself and get someone to listen and take action. (…) I am forced to swallow the apathy of our justice system for sexual assault victims like me.” de la Torre said. “I learned that the ‘I’ has become ‘we.’ And we deserve better. Stalking, peeping tom, rape, sodomy, drugging women and making non-consenual pornographic images and videos of women is not OK in OK County.”
Truong told Anderson to let de la Torre finish.
“I recognize the court is telling me to let her finish,” Anderson said before raising his last objection.
De la Torre asked the court to prosecute Platt to the fullest extent of the law.
Anderson asked to cross examine de la Torre, but Truong declined his request. De la Torre returned to sit with a group of supporters and quietly wept. De la Torre stifled her sobs on the shoulder of a supporter.
Platt is also facing two counts of rape by instrumentation brought against him in January.
