Retired teacher accused of sexual abuse of child; authorities worry other victims may be out there.
A retired teacher in the Stephenville Independent School District has been charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child after an alleged victim made a complaint to authorities.
John David Trice, 77, was arrested by the Texas Rangers on Aug. 2 and released from the Erath County Jail the same day after posting a $150,000 bond.
Trice was reportedly a sixth grade science teacher with SISD for decades before retiring in 1994.
According to the official complaint obtained by Beneath the Surface News, the now 23-year-old victim told Texas Ranger B.J. Hill that the abuse took place for about three months in the summer of 2010.
District Attorney Alan Nash said the identities of sexual assault victims will always be protected and that if other victims exist, they should contact local law enforcement.
THE OFFICIAL COMPLAINT
The official complaint is hard to read.
The victim describes in graphic detail numerous sexual encounters Trice allegedly forced him to endure.
The victim said the abuse started in May 2010 when he began working for Trice at his ranch in Lingleville.
He told authorities that Trice showed him pornographic videos, gave him beer, directed him to take his pants off and touched him inappropriately numerous times over a three-month period.
He said the abuse allegedly started about a month after he began working for Trice.
“The child victim stated that at the end of the workday, he and Trice would have a beer in the barn on Trice’s property. One day during this time, Trice asked the child victim to take off his pants so he could ‘see what you got down there,’” the complaint states.
The victim said he complied out of fear.
The sexual abuse reportedly escalated during the following weeks with Trice allegedly forcing the child to swim naked and touch him.
Trice has reportedly hired Stephenville attorney David Stokes to represent him in the case. A call to Stokes’ office for comment has not been returned.
Trice has been charged with the first degree felony offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14.
