A judge on Wednesday sentenced a Benton restaurant owner to a year's probation after the man, initially charged with sexually assaulting his teen employees, pleaded no contest to lesser charges, court records state.

Tim Steppach, 48, owner of Tim's Tavern, pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, and prosecutors dropped the two felony second-degree sexual assault charges he was facing, court records show.

Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit Judge Josh Farmer passed the sentence, which doesn't require Steppach to serve any jail time or register as a sex offender, on Wednesday, court documents state.

Police in February 2024 booked Steppach on charges of rape, residential burglary, first-degree false imprisonment, interference with emer

See Full Page