Aaron James Pepion Sentenced in U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on January 21, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, AARON JAMES PEPION, a 29-year-old resident of Browning, appeared for sentencing. PEPION was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 30 months
• Special Assessment: $100
• Supervised Release: Three years

PEPION was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to sexual abuse of a minor.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Carroll, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On July 27, 2009, PEPION was interviewed regarding allegations that he had engaged in sexual acts with a 14-year-old female. PEPION admitted that he had romantically kissed the victim, fondled her breasts, and had inserted his finger into her vaginal opening. He stated that he did these things in approximately April of 2009 at the victim’s residence, which is located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

The victim was interviewed and she confirmed PEPION’S statement.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that PEPION will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, PEPION does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for “good behavior.” However, this reduction will not exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Browning