George Trivette pleads guilty to federal sex charges
By Jerry Sena

A federal grand jury indictment has led a former Watauga High School assistant coach to plead guilty to using his computer to lure a minor into a sexual rendezvous last January.  George Clayton Trivette, Jr., 35, was indicted in September on a federal charge of enticing a female under 18 into a criminal act.

His sentence could be anywhere from five to 30 years in federal prison. Trivette also faces a possible $250,000 fine and lifetime probation.

The Watauga County District Attorney’s Office had been prosecuting Trivette on 2 state charges of secret peeping and the computer sex count. The district attorney dropped those charges after the U.S. Attorney, in Statesville, took up the case Aug. 23.

The most recent peeping charge came when a Watauga County Sheriff’s deputy investigating a reported prowler said he found Trivette peering through the bedroom window of a Highland Hall Road apartment just after 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 14.

The original peeping charge, in Nov. 2003, was connected with an incident in the Bavarian Village apartment complex at 314 Meadowview Rd.

A female neighbor told police she’d seen Trivette looking through the window of another female neighbor. Trivette lived next door to the alleged victim.

In that case, authorities had been unable to locate the alleged victim, Erin Michelle Weddington, and the witness, Christie Hughes.

In January, Trivette was caught up in an Internet prowler sting staged by a private group calling itself U.S. Cyberwatch. The group uses adult volunteers to patrol Internet chat rooms while posing as minors.

The group gave Boone Police investigators screen shots, digital recordings and images of Trivette as he allegedly attempted on Jan. 30, 2004, to arrange a sexual meeting with what police say he believed was a 13-year-old girl.

Watauga school officials fired Trivette from his job as an assistant cross-country coach after learning of the allegations against him.

He’d been charged with solicitation of a child by computer to commit a sex act in the January case.

The federal grand jury handed down its own charge Aug. 23. Trivette was arraigned Sept. 6 and his guilty plea entered Nov. 4.

In the plea, Trivette has admitted to the indictment’s allegation that he “knowingly [attempted] to persuade, induce, entice or coerce a person under 18 years of age to engage in any sexual act for which any person may be criminally prosecuted.”

Trivette’s use of the Internet constituted an act affecting interstate commerce, making it a federal crime.

In the plea agreement, prosecutors have agreed not to bring charges based on evidence seized from Trivette’s home during execution of a January search warrant. Trivette will also avoid prosecution for any possible crimes resulting from a search of his computer and disks in March.

Federal prosecutors also agreed to reduce Trivette’s sentence by as many as three levels provided he cooperates fully with authorities. He’ll also be required to register as a sex offender according to state law.

The plea agreement must be accepted by the court before it becomes binding. No date has been set for a sentencing hearing.

• Jerry Sena may be contacted at jtsena@wataugademocrat.com.