A self-proclaimed dominatrix could finally stand trial in Stafford County on 2001 sex and drug charges after being arrested as a fugitive in Maryland.
Patricia Helen Meehan, 55, was arrested May 8 at her home in Hagerstown, Md., where she had been living under the assumed name of Patricia Noonan, said Stafford County sheriff's spokesman Bill Kennedy.
Stafford detective Dave Wood contacted Maryland State Police after learning that Meehan was living in Hagerstown, Kennedy said. She was extradited to the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford, where she is being held without bond pending trial.
Stafford detectives raided Meehan's Aquia Harbour home in June 2001. They seized bondage devices, sexual aids, computer and video equipment, client databases and marijuana plants, according to the search warrant affidavit.
A Stafford grand jury indicted Meehan in September 2001 on charges of manufacturing marijuana, crimes against nature, keeping a bawdy place and prostitution. She is accused of fleeing Stafford after being indicted, Kennedy said.
Prostitution and keeping a bawdy house are misdemeanors. Cultivating marijuana and crimes against nature are felonies. The crimes-against-nature charge stems from alleged consensual sodomy.
The Stafford Sheriff's Office found out about her alleged activities from a family considering buying a house on her street, Merrimac Drive. Detectives looked at her Web site, titled "Mistress Jesse, D.C.'s Hottest Domina," and found probable cause for a search warrant.
The Web site featured graphic photos of a woman involved in sexual acts. On it, Mistress Jesse said she "loves to control, manipulate and play with submissive men. This is a private home, fully equipped for most kinks and fetishes, can accommodate anything from novice to masochist."
In her home at 2001 Merrimac Drive, deputies found a full dungeon equipped with dozens of whips, chains, a wooden stockade and many "electronic torture devices," according to the search warrant affidavit. They also seized two dozen marijuana plants.
Meehan allegedly charged $275 per hour for each client, the affidavit said.
Aquia Harbour is a community of about 2,500 single-family homes with its own police force and security gate. The subdivision's bylaws prohibited Meehan or others from running a home business of any kind.
A reporter who called Meehan's home phone number in 2001 got an answering machine with the following message: "Hi, this is Jesse. I'm a little tied up right now, but I'll play your message back later."
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5424 Email: bfreehling at freelancestar.com