119 years: Trice guilty on 7 counts

(Editor’s note: The following story contains language that may be difficult for some readers and may be upsetting to sexual assault victims. It is the Citizen’s policy that victims of sexual assault are not identified in stories.)

John David Trice, 78, was sentenced to a combined 119 years in prison after being found guilty on seven counts of sexual abuse of a child related to four male victims who were teenagers at the time of the offenses.

The trial occurred last week in the 266th Judicial District Court in Erath County with Judge Jason Cashon presiding.

Trice received 40 years on count one - continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, 10 years for count two – indecency with a child, 12 years for count three – indecency with a child, 15 years for count four – indecency with a child and 12 years for count five – indecency with a child; 20 years for count six – sexual assault of a child and 10 years for count seven – sexual performance by a child. All sentences will serve concurrently.

“I don’t think I’d have the courage to do what these victims did this week,” District Attorney Alan Nash said in closing remarks. “A pattern of grooming culminating in abuse is wrong.”

Trice showed no emotion as the verdict was read or after sentencing was completed.

On Friday, Jan. 26, Nash only called one witness prior to jury deliberations for sentencing commenced, and that was the much talked about Child Victim No. 4.

In the indictments, Child Victims No. 1, 2,3 and 5 are used, but not number four.

Nash explained to Citizen that Victim No. 4 could not be included in the charges because of the statute of limitations expiring and because in the 1980s the offense was not a felony.

Victim No. 4, a 56-year-old Lingleville man took the stand who was one of Trice’s 7th grade students at Stephenville ISD in the 1980s.

The man told the jury that Trice had asked him (when he was a 13-year-old teen) to come to the ranch to do some work. Trice then proceeded to give him beer, showed him pornographic magazines and then asked him to go skinny dipping in a stock tank. The teen went swimming, but kept his underwear on as Trice was nude. The man reported on the stand that Trice never touched him in a sexual manner.

The victim never went back to the ranch after that day and called Texas Ranger B.J. Hill after seeing reports in Beneath the Surface News on Trice’s initial arrest in the case.

Ranger Hill stated to the Citizen that there were also additional victims who did not want to come forward in this case.

Day 1 testimony

The testimony for trial began Tuesday, Jan. 23 with opening remarks from District Attorney Alan Nash. Nash told the jury – comprised of nine women and three men that the case would include a heavy subject matter and that the trial would be much like a puzzle, unfolding a complete picture piece by piece.

However, due to time lapsed since the alleged offenses, Nash warned, it might be like an old puzzle that is missing some pieces like specific dates, locations or clothing worn.

“You can still see what the picture is going to be,” he said.

Nash walked the jury through some of the testimony that would come from the victim that first outcried – a 14-year old boy – that worked for Trice on his ranch in Lingleville.

“Trice can’t remember what he did with him, when he’s confronted with it,” Nash said. “Could anyone ever forget doing those things or not doing those things?”

Nash implored the jury to look and listen to the victims carefully as they took the stand. All four victims (Victims 1, 2 3 and 5) testified during the trial.

“What would it take for these young men, well men now, to come before 12 jurors, a judge, a gallery and a prosecutor?” he said. “Think about what it would be like to take that stand and describe sexual experiences from one’s youth that no one should ever have to talk about or experience.”

Nash called his first witness Texas Ranger B.J. Hill to the stand where Ranger Hill testified he became involved in the case when the first victim’s father who is a retired law enforcement called him, and stated he thought his sons were sexually abused by Trice.

In March 2022, the first victim came to talk to him and then later his brother, Victim No. 2, also came forward.

Victim No. 1, who is now 30, testified that he began working for Trice on his ranch at the age of 13. The victim’s testimony chronicled Trice giving him beer and questioning him about sex. Once, when Trice’s wife was away, Victim No. 1 stated that Trice invited him inside the house where he gave him whiskey, put in a porn video and began touching him.

He was 14 at the time of the offense and stated the abuse happened two more times before he stopped taking Trice’s calls.

“I told nobody; I kept it to myself,” he said.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, only 12% of child sexual abuse is reported to the authorities.

Jurors heard the audio recording from a controlled call between Victim No. 1 and Trice and then an audio recording of an in-person meeting that occurred later on between the two. Both the call and the meeting were done without Trice’s knowledge that he was being recorded.

During the course of the two audio recordings, Victim No. 1 stated repeatedly that someone had been asking questions about what happened at the ranch and that he was seeking advice on what he should tell them.

“Do you want me to ignore them or tell them what happened?” the first victim asked Trice on the recording.

Trice repeatedly stated he didn’t remember what occurred.

“I remember us being chummy – talking about girls and drinking beer,” Trice said. “I would appreciate you telling (the authorities) that you don’t remember, but I can’t make you. And I’ll apologize even though I don’t know what I’m apologizing for.”

Trice and Victim No. 1 met again the next day where there was talk of money in exchange for silence.

Trice’s attorney David Stokes claimed the victim was trying to extort his client for $300,000, but Nash argued that wasn’t true because the victim had already given a full report to authorities about what Trice had done to him. (A civil lawsuit for $10 million from the first two victims against Trice has been filed.)

Nash then walked the jury through years of bank statements where Trice paid boys for labor and these bank records allowed Hill to uncover the names of two additional victims that made outcries when interviewed.

“I approached them; they did not come to me,” Hill stated during testimony.

Due to the length of time since the alleged offenses, no bank records were recovered for payment for Victim No. 1 and 2.

Victim No. 3, now a 21-yearold college student, testified that he began working for Trice on the weekends when he was 15.

Victim No. 3 testified that after three to four weeks of work, Trice began coming onto him sexually.

“I thought it was weird for sure,” he said. “He would talk about whether I would try new things or go inside with him and ‘get a nut.’” During his graphic testimony, he stated he was subject to continued sexual abuse over several years. He testified that Trice gave him $15,000 to invest in a Roth IRA and once paid him $50 for oral sex.

He said he was relieved to receive a call from Ranger Hill and was too embarrassed to tell anyone.

“I don’t want to be here today, but it’s the right thing to do,” Victim No. 3 said.

(Day two coverage was provided by Sara Vanden Berge with Beneath the Surface News) Day two testimony

On Wednesday, Jan. 24, testimony continued with additional victim testimony and presented the defense with an opportunity to have Trice defend himself.

Victim No. 2, now 25, said Trice began abusing him in Summer 2010 when he was 12 years old.

The young man became emotional when he described the abuse he claimed to have suffered at the hands of his former boss.

He also described a disturbing scene where Trice allegedly had sex with a horse, an allegation also made by another victim on Tuesday.

Victim No. 5 testified that he began working part-time for Trice in 2016 when he was 17.

He said Trice began taking him to a vacant apartment building he owned where they drank whiskey and a friendship began to be formed, but said it didn’t take long for things to turn sexual.

Victim No. 5 stated Trice offered to purchase wheels and tired for his truck and buy him a motorcycle in exchange for sexual favors.

The abuse ended when he found another job.

“I was in a place that I needed to get away, so I began seeking ways to get away from Mr. Trice,” he said.

John David Trice took to the stand adamantly denying abusing young boys.

The defendant told his attorney David Stokes that he never touched his four accusers in a sexual manner while they worked for him on his Lingleville ranch and denied having pornography inside his home or using it to groom his underage victim.

Trice also denied having sex with a horse.

During his testimony, Trice talked about how many young men he helped financially over the years including buying trucks, paying dental bills and providing extra spending money.

District Attorney Alan Nash wasted no time when presented with the opportunity to cross examine the defendant.

Nash confronted Trice about a recorded telephone conversation between the defendant and Victim No. 1 where Trice could be heard saying, “I don’t remember all the shit we did, but I know I didn’t do it with (Victim 2).”

Nash questioned Trice about the long list of young boys between the ages of 13-16 he hired over the years and the monetary gifts he regularly gave them.

The DA also pointed out that just four months ago – at the time this case was set for trial – Trice co-signed on a loan for a $70,000 skid steer for a former employee who testified as a character witness on Trice’s behalf.

“To what do we owe such generosity?” Nash asked, to which there was no clear answer.

A string of character witnesses also testified on Trice’s behalf, including Trice’s wife, son and daughter-in-law, stating what a great guy he is.

Carol Trice said she has been married to her husband for 56 years and never had any suspicions anything was amiss.

She said her husband has always been able to relate to teenagers and that many of them seemed to respect him.

The defense also heard from two former employees who said they never witnessed Trice act inappropriately.

Testimony continued on Thursday, Jan. 25 before the jury began to deliberate on a verdict.

Day three testimony

Testimony for the final day wrapped up with several character witnesses for the defendant including Alan Novak, a neighbor to Trice, who allowed him to utilize his pool when he was not at home. Novak and his spouse share time between Texas and Pennsylvania where he serves as a lobbyist for the government.

Novak testified that Trice and his wife Carol were good friends of the Novaks who would often get together for “couple outings” such as dinner or going to events.

Novak explained that there were several people, including the Trices, who would check on their home for them when they were away in the other state.

Novak was questioned by the defense as to Trice’s sexuality and stated there was nothing that made him think he was a homosexual and it wouldn’t have mattered even if it was.

Gabe Volf, a former employee of Trice, also testified on his behalf. He worked for Trice from 19952000. “Everything was straight forward and I remember him being very polite,” Volf said. “I never saw anything to indicate he was a pedophile.”

A lifelong friend, Pete Rogers, testified on Trice’s behalf.

“It’s lucky that you get to be friends with someone their whole lives,” Rogers said. The two men have been friends for more than 60 years and went to college together. “We would talk every couple of months and we would visit a couple times a year,” he said. Rogers now lives in Austin. “He was 100 percent truthful. If he said he was going to do something, he did it. I never heard anyone question his sexuality,” he said.

After testimony concluded, Cashon read the charge document which was 27 pages long. The jury deliberated for more than five hours before coming back with a unanimous verdict of guilty on all seven counts.

“There are never any winners in cases like these, day after day we sat through hard testimonies. The reality is that these survivors will be affected all their lives, but we are thankful to see justice prevailed. Although JUSTICE doesn’t always equal healing, we hope this will open the door for healing to begin,” said Aida “Evie” Monrreal, Cross Timbers Family Services Bilingual Legal Advocate after the trial concluded.