Pepperdine enters Alford plea on two battery charges

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint man has entered a plea to two amended battery charges connected to an offense dating back to Aug. 4, 2024.  

According to court records, Timothy Pepperdine entered an Alford plea to two counts of battery for willfully grabbing an individual against her will and pressing his body onto her without consent. Under the plea deal, the charges were amended from forcible penetration by use of foreign object to two counts of battery. 

Under an Alford plea, a defendant admits no wrongdoing but concedes a guilty verdict could result following a trial. The plea is treated no differently than a standard plea of guilt at sentencing. 

Pepperdine, 35, will serve his two charges consecutively, serving 360 days in jail — not including credit for time served — followed by two years of supervised probation. He will be required to attend the Bonner County Sheriff inmate labor program for 20 days within one year’s time and submit to a psychosexual and a Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN) evaluation, obtaining all treatments required.  

A GAIN evaluation is a collection of evidence-based instruments used to support a clinical diagnosis and treatment plans.  

A request by Pepperdine for a withheld judgment was denied with the court noting he had received one in 2009 over a DUI charge.  

Pepperdine was originally accused of going into a trailer where the victim was sleeping and forced himself on her. According to a probable cause affidavit, all parties “had a lot to drink.” When surrounding witnesses heard yelling and went to the camper, Pepperdine was found intoxicated and undressed. He was later arrested that day after charges were filed.