Urine collector will stay on probation

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COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- An Ohio man who has been forbidden from using public restrooms will remain under house arrest and probation, a judge said.

In February, Alan Patton, 59, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of house arrest and probation for a criminal mischief conviction after he was found clogging toilets in a Lewis Center Burger King bathroom, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

He was acquitted in 2009 of charges related to collecting bodily substances, a charge devised specifically for Patton after he was found trying to collect urine from restrooms.

Patton was arrested again Aug. 15 for repeatedly harassing his probation officer over the phone. Attorney Christopher Soon Friday asked Judge David P. Sunderman to allow Patton to serve his remaining 19 days in jail for the harassing phone calls in exchange for the end of his probation.

But Assistant City Prosecutor Joseph E. Schmansky said Patton wants to avoid probation upon release so he can return to his odd ways.

"He wants to go out and do what got him into trouble," Schmansky said.

Sunderman Friday ordered Patton released and returned to GPS monitoring, while also ordering Patton to undergo mental health counseling.

In the phone messages to his probation officer, Patton called the probation order "five years of torture." He later apologized for the messages and said he does not intend to repeat his offenses.