A man convicted of rape continued Wednesday to deny the charges against him, even as a federal judge sentenced him to spend nearly 17 years in prison.

Jason Pumpkin Seed, 20, Wounded Knee, was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse after a jury trial here in March. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Andrew Bogue ordered Pumpkin Seed to 200 months in federal custody. Pumpkin Seed will spend the rest of his life under federal supervision.

"I just want to say that it's kind of hard for me to go through this," Pumpkin Seed told Bogue. "I didn't do what (the victim) said I did."

But the jury believed otherwise, after hearing testimony from the victim, three boys who prosecutors say interrupted the rape, and Pumpkin Seed himself. Law enforcement officers and medical personnel also testified.

Pumpkin Seed claimed that he and the victim were having "calm, consensual" foreplay when the boys showed up. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Olson said his story didn't coincide with testimony about the victim's injuries, grass-stained clothing and disheveled state after the incident, or with the boys' testimony about what they observed.

Olson asked Bogue to sentence Pumpkin Seed to 210 months for the rape, which happened Sept. 29, 2006, outside a home in Wounded Knee.

"This was a violent rape. It caused much trauma to the victim" including the fact that she continues to live in the small community where the assault happened, Olson said. "To me there's a lack of remorse."

Defense attorney George Grassby asked for a sentence of 188 months, noting that Pumpkin Seed has no prior criminal history.

"We are remorseful for the trouble that fateful night has caused," he said.

Previously, Grassby told Bogue that evidence that the victim lied to authorities - which Grassby was not allowed to present to the jury - may have led to a different verdict.

As part of the sentence, Bogue ordered that Pumpkin Seed be allowed to enter a 500-hour drug- and alcohol-treatment program while in prison.

"That's what got him into trouble in the first place, I think," he said.

Both sides are allowed to appeal the sentence.

During deliberations after Pumpkin Seed's trial, one juror performed the Heimlich maneuver on another juror who was choking. The choking juror was then excused so she could see her doctor. The remaining 11 jurors decided the case.

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com