Justin Price, age 33 of Teague, Texas, was found guilty by a Freestone County jury for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child last Wednesday afternoon. The verdict was reached after multiple days of testimony from several witnesses, including Teague Police Department Officers, professionals from the Advocacy Center in Waco, and the victim of the crime. The testimony included incidents of sexual abuse of a young child that occurred over the course of multiple months while Price lived in the home.
“I am proud of the victim for standing up to her abuser. She showed an impressive level of maturity to testify during trial,” said Freestone County Attorney Brian Evans. The investigation was conducted by the Teague Police Department along with assistance from the Waco Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children. “I appreciate the work by Officer Hutchinson and Lee-Winston along with Sergeant Keale to put the case together and testifying in trial. Chief Dewayne Philpott also played a key role in supervising the investigation from start to finish.”
After the guilty verdict, Price was taken into custody and Judge Patrick Simmons set a punishment hearing for January 10, 2022. The offense of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child carries a punishment range of 25 years to 99 years or Life in prison. “Our law provides a harsh punishment for this crime, where a minimum sentence is 25 years”, explained Evans. “Further, there is no parole for this crime and the Defendant will be required to serve the sentence day for day.”
