A former coach with Vernon Independent School District in North Texas is charged with multiple felony sex crimes involving children.
Billy Joe Boyce, 63, was arrested on July 12 and booked into the Wilbarger County Jail in Vernon.
Boyce, who school officials say was last employed by the district in June 2021, is charged with:
- Three counts of indecency with a child by contact, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison;
- One count of sexual performance by a child, also a second-degree felony; and
- Two counts of indecency with a child by exposure, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison.
The charges stem from two indictments filed on July 10, alleging separate incidents that appear to involve two different victims under the age of 17, although it’s not clear if the unnamed girls were Vernon ISD students.
Texoma’s Homepage reports that the offenses allegedly occurred on September 28, 2020, and May 26, 2023.
The 2020 charges allege Boyce touched the genitals and breasts of the alleged victim.
The 2023 charges accuse Boyce of inducing the victim to expose herself, exposing himself to the victim, and forcing her to touch him.
Boyce is being held in Wilbarger County Jail on a $650,000 bond for all six charges.
State Board for Educator Certification records show Boyce is under investigation by the Texas Education Agency, but his lifetime teaching certificate—issued in 1999 for “vocational occupational orientation”—remains valid.
In June, former Vernon ISD coach and assistant principal Michael Stevens was busted for online solicitation of a minor as part of a sex crimes sting. Stevens was serving as superintendent of Itasca ISD at the time of his arrest.
Texas Scorecard has reported on dozens of Texas educators accused of sex crimes involving students and other minors, and more “bad apples” are being charged almost every day.
