DILLON — A 25-year-old Dillon man was sentenced in Beaverhead County District Court for raping an unconscious woman in a case that has spanned more than four years.
Chase Kitchen was sentenced to 20 years in the Montana State Prison with 10 years suspended after pleading guilty to felony sexual intercourse without consent in 2024. He must also register as a tier one sex offender, as well as follow other orders made by the court.
"Chase Kitchen made me feel like an object, a helpless creature ensnared in a trap," the victim said during testimony. MTN News does not name victims of sexual assault crimes.
WATCH: Dillon man sentenced to 10 years for sexual assault conviction
According to court documents, the victim was at a bar in June 2021, where she remembered being served one drink but did not recall anything else from the night. Video evidence showed her seated with Kitchen until the bar closed.
The victim told officers she woke up in Kitchen's bed and he drove her home. She then noticed bruises on her body and experienced vaginal pain that prompted her to go to the hospital, where she underwent a sexual assault examination.
Results from the exam showed male DNA was present, and the victim had bruising in multiple places on her body.
Kitchen was originally charged in five separate rape cases that have since been dismissed. He has been held in the county jail since pleading guilty.
"This case has been going on for about 4 and a half years. This is the one accusation that Mr. Kitchen pleaded guilty to. However, there are many other alleged victims," said Izzi Simonsen with the Women's Resource Center. "I want to pay so much respect to the survivors that did come forward, who gave many other survivors of Mr. Kitchen a voice."
Simonsen works with the Women's Resource Center that provides free and confidential services to survivors of domestic violence in Beaverhead and Madison Counties. She attended court to show support for the victims.
"As a single mother, I'm raising my son in a world where these actions will not be tolerated," the victim said. "I have become a voice for those who feel voiceless and for those who feel voiceless and for those who repercussions without speaking out," said the victim in her testimony before the court.
District Judge Berger handed down the sentence.
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