Pleas head off rape trial

SANDPOINT — A Sagle man pleaded guilty Monday on the brink of his trial on rape, kidnapping and felony drug charges.

In an agreement with the state, Dean Duane Stevens Jr. entered Alford pleas  to charges of rape and delivery of methamphetamine. In exchange for the pleas, the first-degree kidnapping charge was dropped.

The date of Stevens’ sentencing hearing was not immediately set. Either of the charges to which he pled could result in lifelong prison sentences.

Sentencing recommendations were not disclosed, although Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall advised the court that the state would not recommend a fixed life term, which leaves open the possibility for indeterminate life or consecutive sentences.

Neither the defense nor the prosecution recommendations are binding upon the sentencing judge.

Under an Alford plea, a defendant claims to be innocent of a felony charge but agrees that sufficient evidence exists to convince jurors of their guilt.

“I am convinced that I might be convicted at trial,” Stevens said in his written Alford plea, which is treated no differently than a standard plea of guilt at sentencing.

Stevens, 40, entered the plea after a pool of approximately 60 potential jurors were summoned to the courthouse for jury selection in the case. First District Judge Charles W. Hosack accepted Stevens’ plea as knowingly and voluntarily entered, court records indicate.

The alleged victim in the case, who was 16 at the time, testified at a preliminary hearing that she was introduced to Stevens at City Beach  in July 2009 and he offered money if she would pose for nude pictures.

The teen told the court that she accompanied Stevens to a derelict cabin in Samuels, where he allegedly supplied her with meth, bound her and sexually assaulted her. She further testified that Stevens threatened her with a pistol during the ordeal.

Stevens has steadfastly maintained he is innocent of the charges.

The charges against him surfaced while he was awaiting sentencing in a sex abuse case involving another teen. Stevens was originally charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor, but he entered into a plea agreement which reduced the offense to felony assault.

The plea agreement in that case was reached prior to Stevens’ being charged in the newer case.

He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, which he served while awaiting trial in the rape case.

Stevens remains held at the Bonner County Jail with his bail set at $500,000.