Terry Pugh, 39, has agreed to a four-year prison term for assaulting his girlfriend following a plea deal. Initially charged with serious offenses, he pleaded no contest to assault and may reduce his sentence with good behavior. The woman testified about the horrific abuse she endured, fearing for her life. She described an incident involving a BB gun during the assault. There was a legal debate about the consent around their sexual interactions, resulting in the dismissal of the rape charge. Pugh will be formally sentenced in January.
Pugh was accused of sexually assaulting, choking, beating, and threatening his girlfriend after getting jealous that she'd allegedly been with another man at the Livermore encampment where they lived.
The woman testified in court at Pugh's November 2024 preliminary hearing, stating she was in fear for her life several times throughout the ordeal.
At one point, she said he put one of his earbuds in his own ear, put the other in her ear, and asked what song I wanted to listen to while he killed me.
I am hesitant to discharge that (rape) count because the circumstances of the context are so awful and so grim, Judge Elisa Della-Piana said at the hearing.
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