NEW BOSTON, Texas–A jury was selected Tuesday in Bowie County to decide the fate of a man accused of molesting a minor teen in 2022 while already required to register as a sex offender for misconduct with a 16-year-old boy in 2011.
Opening statements and testimony are expected to begin Wednesday morning in the trial of Gary Lynn Crouch, 46, in proceedings before Fifth District Judge Bill Miller.
Crouch is accused of misconduct with a girl in 2022 that involved inappropriate touching and “grinding,” according to court records. He is charged with three counts of indecency with a child by contact.
The alleged victim reportedly is a biological female who prefers to be identified as a male. Crouch is married to the child’s mother but the child had been living in Idaho, had not seen the mother in more than five years and was visiting his mother for a month at her and Crouch’s residence in De Kalb, Texas, during the summer of 2022, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The alleged abuse was reported in 2023 and the teen underwent a forensic interview in Idaho that year.
Crouch allegedly took steps to get the child alone during the summer 2022 visit and kissed and fondled the child when there was opportunity. Crouch reportedly gave the alleged victim a promise ring to symbolize “purity to God and him” and told them that “being gay is a sin.”
Crouch allegedly told the child in 2022 that he “could go to jail for this,” after inappropriate touching. The child’s mother allegedly told them not to tell because it would mean Crouch could no longer preach at area churches and that she and another child living with Crouch, would have no place to go if he went to jail.
Indecency with a child by contact is typically punishable by two to 20 years in prison, however, the Bowie County District Attorney’s Office has filed a notice that it intends to seek an enhanced punishment for Crouch of up to life in prison if he is found guilty. Crouch was previously convicted of prohibited sexual conduct involving a 16-year-old boy.
In that case, Crouch allegedly abused a 16-year-old boy along with a former wife.
In December 2011, Crouch pleaded guilty in Bowie County to prohibited sexual conduct and received a 10-year probation as part of a plea agreement. Less than a year later, Crouch violated his conditions of probation by running afoul of a custody order in Florida involving other children.
In 2012, Crouch’s probation was revoked and he was ordered to serve a 10-year prison sentence.
After his arrest on the most recent charges, Crouch posted a $75,000 bond and was released from custody. His bond was revoked in February after officials determined he was living with a felon/convicted sex offender in violation of his bond conditions.
Crouch remains in Bowie County custody.
The state is represented by Assistant District Attorney Christina Flanigan. Crouch is represented by Jeff Harrelson of Texarkana and Val Jones of Marshall, Texas.