Judge adopts terms in abuse case

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man awaiting trial on charges of rape and kidnapping was sentenced Monday to 90 days in jail in a prior sexual abuse case.

District Judge Steve Verby adopted the terms of a plea agreement in Dean Duane Stevens Jr.’s case. The agreement was brokered several months before Stevens was arrested on the new charges.

Stevens is scheduled to stand trial on the new charges in January 2010.

In the earlier case, Stevens was accused of molesting a teenage girl on a number of occasions between 2004 and 2006, when she was between the ages of 14 and 15.

Stevens entered an Alford plea to a reduced charge of aggravated assault on the second day of his trial in 1st District Court in April. He was originally charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor.

Under the plea, Stevens admitted no wrongdoing. However, it is treated no differently than a guilty plea at sentencing.

Stevens had no comment before the sentenced was imposed. There was also no testimony from the victim in that case. A plea agreement recommended a suspended of prison term of two to five years and three months of local incarceration.

Although the agreement was not binding upon the court, Verby said he decided to follow the sentence recommendations in the case.

“This case is particularly troubling in a number of regards,” said Verby, explaining that the alleged victim recanted the allegations at one point and was suffering from health problems which appeared to affect her memory.

A relative had also accused the girl, now 19, of confusing fantasy from reality, Verby said.

Stevens, 38, was originally to be sentenced in June, but it was postponed so he could receive additional treatment for an unspecified mental health condition. He was arrested the following month on allegations he lured a 16-year-old to a cabin in Samuels, where he supplied her with methamphetamine and raped her.

Stevens was ordered to stand trial in that case following a preliminary hearing in which the alleged victim testified of her ordeal. He has pleaded not guilty to rape, kidnapping and delivery of a controlled substance.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson moved Monday to lower Stevens’ bail from $500,000 to $40,000 in the newer case so he could gain access to inmate work programs. She cited Stevens’ family ties to the area.

Prosecutor Louis Marshall objected to a reduced bail, noting that Stevens faces the prospect of three life sentences. Verby declined the bail reduction request.

“I do not think Mr. Stevens is a good risk,” he said.