James Franklin Boyle By David May editor@mineralwellsindex.com
April 7, 2017
PALO PINTO – When an arrest warrant was issued in 2010 for James Franklin Boyle in an investigation into child sex offenses, he tried fleeing into Mexico but he was stopped, caught and returned to Palo Pinto County.
He didn't escape the country, but he did escape prosecution when the former district attorney in 2012 dropped the charges and dismissed the indictment on grounds a witness could not be found.
Boyle's good fortune didn't change his behavior. Another outcry by three young male victims – ages 5,7 and 8 – in 2015 led to another investigation, arrest and indictment on child sexual assault charges. This time, Boyle didn't escape prosecution or justice.
The never-married and fatherless 35-year-old Palo Pinto County man was convicted Friday morning on two counts of first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault of a child, a second-degree count of indecency with a child by sexual contact, and a first-degree felony count of tampering with a witness.
The seven-woman, five-man jury then sentenced Boyle to the maximum 99 years on each of the three first-degree felony cases, and the maximum 20 years on the second-degree indecency case. At the request of the state, 29th State District Judge Michael Moore stacked the three 99-year sentences, meaning each will be served separately, rather than concurrently.
Previously offered a plea bargain of 40 years on the first-degree counts and 20 years on the second-degree count, Boyle rejected the deal and opted for a jury trial. If served concurrently, he could have been eligible for parole in 20 years. Instead, without a change in current state law, he will have to serve a minimum 70 years as a result of the stacked sentences.
The problem for Boyle going to trial was that his court-appointed defense attorney, Chris Castanon, was not able to put up much of a defense against the state's witnesses – including the three young victims in the 2015 case and a victim from the 2010 case. On top of that, Boyle declined to testify on his behalf in either phase of the two-part trial.
Rejection of the plea deal was a gamble that Boyle lost badly.
Trying her first full case before a jury as Palo Pinto County district attorney, Kriste Burnett said she was very pleased with the verdicts and punishment in the case.
"We are thrilled," she said. "It was a very difficult case for everybody, including the jury. My entire team in my office contributed to trying this case. It was awesome work by the investigators and the CAC (Child Advocacy Center of Palo Pinto County)."
The trial coincided with the start of Child Abuse Awareness Month.
"This sends a message that juries in this county do not tolerate child abuse," Burnett said.
The jury responded to what Burnett asked of them in determining Boyle's guilt or innocence.
"You decide if we put up with this kind of behavior in Palo Pinto County," Burnett told the panel Thursday in her closing arguments. "Do we put up with people who treat children like this, and take away their innocence? This is not something I think is acceptable behavior, and the State of Texas does not believe it is acceptable behavior."
The jury was seated Monday and testimony began Tuesday, the day in which jurors heard directly from the three boys who accused Boyle of touching and performing oral sex on them, and having them do the same to him.
Proceedings were suspended Wednesday because of an ill juror. When testimony resumed Thursday, one of the day's witnesses was a victim from the dismissed 2010 case, a now 17-year-old male who lives in northern Oklahoma but who made the trip back to Palo Pinto County to testify against his one-time friend-turned-abuser.
"I agreed to come down here because I didn't want this to happen to anyone else," said the young man, who is diagnosed with ADHD and has an apparent learning disorder. He gave a rubber ball he gripped in his hands a good squeezing throughout his testimony as he occasionally paused, closed his eyes and took deep breaths during the questioning.
Like other victims in the two cases, the young male said Boyle befriended him with lures of playing video games in his home, frequent gifts and trips to the river to fish and ride four-wheelers.
Similar to most, if not all, of Boyle's young victims, the young man said he did not have his father in his life. He said it was not uncommon for there to be several boys at a time at Boyle's home – which in 2010 was in southeast Mineral Wells. The most recent cases took place at Boyle's residence on Hess Road, south of Mineral Wells.
The young man said the relationship changed and Boyle began touching and performing sexual acts on him, and having him perform similar acts on Boyle. Asked how often this occurred, the young male answered, "Many times."
The young man put a stop to it by making an outcry to a cousin, which led to the 2010 investigation, issuance of an arrest warrant and the return of an indictment on charges of indecency with a child.
Mineral Wells police patrol Sgt. Darby Thomas was a detective then and investigated the 2010 case. He said Boyle declined to talk to him. Thomas obtained a warrant and went to Boyle's home to arrest him, only to find it cleaned out and Boyle gone. He said two days later he received a call from authorities in Brownsville that Boyle was stopped trying to cross the border into Mexico, but was arrested when the warrant turned up on a computer check.
The trial's only defense witness came during the punishment phase Friday morning when Boyle's father, Frank Boyle III, called his son "a good kid" growing up.
"He worked hard," said the 63-year-old Army veteran who is now on disability. "He loved the river. He'd rather go to the river than do anything."
The senior Boyle asked the jury to consider probation for his son, who he said was a special education student in school.
"I do believe he needs some help," the father said.
He told Assistant District Attorney Robert DuBoise he often saw young males in his son's home, but did not find it unusual at the time.
DuBoise asked the elder Boyle if he thought, between 2012 when the first indictment was dismissed until his son's arrest in 2015, there might be "multiple other victims we haven't heard from?"
"Could be," the father replied.
April 7, 2017
PALO PINTO – When an arrest warrant was issued in 2010 for James Franklin Boyle in an investigation into child sex offenses, he tried fleeing into Mexico but he was stopped, caught and returned to Palo Pinto County.
He didn't escape the country, but he did escape prosecution when the former district attorney in 2012 dropped the charges and dismissed the indictment on grounds a witness could not be found.
Boyle's good fortune didn't change his behavior. Another outcry by three young male victims – ages 5,7 and 8 – in 2015 led to another investigation, arrest and indictment on child sexual assault charges. This time, Boyle didn't escape prosecution or justice.
The never-married and fatherless 35-year-old Palo Pinto County man was convicted Friday morning on two counts of first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault of a child, a second-degree count of indecency with a child by sexual contact, and a first-degree felony count of tampering with a witness.
The seven-woman, five-man jury then sentenced Boyle to the maximum 99 years on each of the three first-degree felony cases, and the maximum 20 years on the second-degree indecency case. At the request of the state, 29th State District Judge Michael Moore stacked the three 99-year sentences, meaning each will be served separately, rather than concurrently.
Previously offered a plea bargain of 40 years on the first-degree counts and 20 years on the second-degree count, Boyle rejected the deal and opted for a jury trial. If served concurrently, he could have been eligible for parole in 20 years. Instead, without a change in current state law, he will have to serve a minimum 70 years as a result of the stacked sentences.
The problem for Boyle going to trial was that his court-appointed defense attorney, Chris Castanon, was not able to put up much of a defense against the state's witnesses – including the three young victims in the 2015 case and a victim from the 2010 case. On top of that, Boyle declined to testify on his behalf in either phase of the two-part trial.
Rejection of the plea deal was a gamble that Boyle lost badly.
Trying her first full case before a jury as Palo Pinto County district attorney, Kriste Burnett said she was very pleased with the verdicts and punishment in the case.
"We are thrilled," she said. "It was a very difficult case for everybody, including the jury. My entire team in my office contributed to trying this case. It was awesome work by the investigators and the CAC (Child Advocacy Center of Palo Pinto County)."
The trial coincided with the start of Child Abuse Awareness Month.
"This sends a message that juries in this county do not tolerate child abuse," Burnett said.
The jury responded to what Burnett asked of them in determining Boyle's guilt or innocence.
"You decide if we put up with this kind of behavior in Palo Pinto County," Burnett told the panel Thursday in her closing arguments. "Do we put up with people who treat children like this, and take away their innocence? This is not something I think is acceptable behavior, and the State of Texas does not believe it is acceptable behavior."
The jury was seated Monday and testimony began Tuesday, the day in which jurors heard directly from the three boys who accused Boyle of touching and performing oral sex on them, and having them do the same to him.
Proceedings were suspended Wednesday because of an ill juror. When testimony resumed Thursday, one of the day's witnesses was a victim from the dismissed 2010 case, a now 17-year-old male who lives in northern Oklahoma but who made the trip back to Palo Pinto County to testify against his one-time friend-turned-abuser.
"I agreed to come down here because I didn't want this to happen to anyone else," said the young man, who is diagnosed with ADHD and has an apparent learning disorder. He gave a rubber ball he gripped in his hands a good squeezing throughout his testimony as he occasionally paused, closed his eyes and took deep breaths during the questioning.
Like other victims in the two cases, the young male said Boyle befriended him with lures of playing video games in his home, frequent gifts and trips to the river to fish and ride four-wheelers.
Similar to most, if not all, of Boyle's young victims, the young man said he did not have his father in his life. He said it was not uncommon for there to be several boys at a time at Boyle's home – which in 2010 was in southeast Mineral Wells. The most recent cases took place at Boyle's residence on Hess Road, south of Mineral Wells.
The young man said the relationship changed and Boyle began touching and performing sexual acts on him, and having him perform similar acts on Boyle. Asked how often this occurred, the young male answered, "Many times."
The young man put a stop to it by making an outcry to a cousin, which led to the 2010 investigation, issuance of an arrest warrant and the return of an indictment on charges of indecency with a child.
Mineral Wells police patrol Sgt. Darby Thomas was a detective then and investigated the 2010 case. He said Boyle declined to talk to him. Thomas obtained a warrant and went to Boyle's home to arrest him, only to find it cleaned out and Boyle gone. He said two days later he received a call from authorities in Brownsville that Boyle was stopped trying to cross the border into Mexico, but was arrested when the warrant turned up on a computer check.
The trial's only defense witness came during the punishment phase Friday morning when Boyle's father, Frank Boyle III, called his son "a good kid" growing up.
"He worked hard," said the 63-year-old Army veteran who is now on disability. "He loved the river. He'd rather go to the river than do anything."
The senior Boyle asked the jury to consider probation for his son, who he said was a special education student in school.
"I do believe he needs some help," the father said.
He told Assistant District Attorney Robert DuBoise he often saw young males in his son's home, but did not find it unusual at the time.
DuBoise asked the elder Boyle if he thought, between 2012 when the first indictment was dismissed until his son's arrest in 2015, there might be "multiple other victims we haven't heard from?"
"Could be," the father replied.