Booking photo for Jerry Dean Rice (Courtesy: Cache County Jail).
LOGAN — A 54-year-old former Logan man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after previously being found guilty of raping a young girl more than 10 years ago. Jerry D. Rice will likely spend the rest of his life incarcerated after a judge gave him the maximum sentence, telling him that sex offences can’t be tolerated by civilized societies.
Rice was sentenced in 1st District Court Thursday morning. Following a three day trial in January, a jury found him guilty on five counts of rape of a child and five counts of sodomy on a child, all first-degree felonies.
Defense Attorney Ryan Holdaway said his client had a lengthy criminal history, partly because he was sexually abused by a neighbor as a teenager. The assault allegedly led to an addiction to methamphetamine, which was an underlying factor for many of the crimes.
Holdway acknowledged to the court, he and Rice recognized that Utah law mandated a sentence of 25-years-to-life for each of the charges. He asked for the judge to run the sentences together, giving his client a chance to one day be paroled.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Dane Murray disagreed and asked for the sentences to run consecutively. He described how Rice raped the victim when she was six-years-old, and then terrorized her for years, threatening her if she ever reported the abuse.
“Society and the victim deserve to be free of the defendant,” said Murray, as he noted how Rice continued to deny any responsibility or accountability for the crimes.
In 2019, the victim told Logan City Police officers how Rice sexually assaulted her almost nightly over the course of a year. He would sneak into her bedroom at night and molest and rape her. He also threatened to kill her mom, if she told anyone. The crimes occurred while Rice was living with the victim’s family between 2010-2011.
Rice spoke briefly during Thursday’s sentencing, continuing to claim he was innocent.
Judge Angela Fonnesbeck agreed with Murray and ordered Rice to serve two consecutive terms of 25-years-to-life in prison. She said the fear the victim experienced justified the back to back sentences.
“We must protect those who are most vulnerable in our society,” said Judge Fonnesbeck, as she expressed hope that the victim would heal from the crimes.
Rice will not be eligible for release until 2072, meaning he will likely die before appearing before the Utah State Board of Pardons and Parole.
will@cvradio.com