Informational: Federal Court Arraignment
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 01, 2009 |
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Missoula, on August 26, 2009, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch, the following individual was arraigned:
AARON JAMES PEPION, a resident of Browning, appeared on a charge of sexual abuse of a minor. He is currently detained. If convicted of this charge, PEPION faces possible penalties of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years' supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Carroll is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The defendant pled not guilty to the charge.
The charge, an indictment, information or complaint, is merely an accusation and any person named as a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A pre-trial conference and a trial date will be set and the United States will be required to prove the allegations set forth in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.