Plea pacts proposed in lewd cases

SANDPOINT — Two young men accused of taking advantage of underage girls entered provisional Alford pleas Monday in bids to resolve their cases, 1st District Court records show.

Attorneys for Perry Pershing Howard and Mitchell Eugene Wallace are seeking plea agreements which would be binding upon the court, which would essentially guarantee that proposed sentencing recommendations would be implemented.

Judge Barbara Buchanan, however, would not agree to bind herself to the pacts without first seeing the results of presentence investigations and psychosexual evaluations, court documents indicate. If Buchanan declines to adopt the terms of the agreements, Howard and Wallace would be allowed to rescind their Alford pleas and proceed to trial.

Under an Alford plea, a defendant takes no moral responsibility for an alleged offense, but concedes they could be convicted if their case went to trial.

At sentencing, there is no distinction between an Alford plea or a traditional plea of guilt, however.

Howard and Wallace, both 18, were charged with rape lewd conduct last fall. They allegedly took advantage an intoxicated 15-year-old girl on Sept. 8.

Howard faced an additional charge of sexual abuse of a minor for allegedly posting a video of the sexual misconduct to social media.

Additional rape charges were brought after another teen came forward and alleged that she had also been sexually assaulted by Howard and Wallace.

Howard and Wallace pleaded not guilty to the felony offenses, according to court records. They are free on bond while the cases are pending.

Under the proposed agreements, Howard and Wallace entered Alford pleas to rape charges. Proposed sentencing recommendations are not specified in court documents.