PIERRE — An Onida man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison in a complex case involving three cases, a rape and an aggravated assault. Sixth Circuit Judge Christina Klinger sentenced 19 year-old Kenden Rivenes to 25 years for Third Degree Rape and 15 years for Aggravated Assault. Fourteen years on the rape charge were suspended along with10 years for the Aggravated Assault. That means Rivenes will only serve 11 years. He’ll be eligible for parole after five. Rivenes was given credit for 281 days served at the Hughes County Jail. Defense attorney Sandy Steffan told Klinger that the Court has only seen the bad in Rivenes when she has seen the good; citing his work ethic. Steffan lobbied for a short prison term and immediate entry into an intensive sex offender treatment program. Assistant Attorney General Kimberly Zachrison painted a far different picture of Rivenes; noting an increasingly more violent trend of sexual assaults. Klinger told Rivenes he has a lack of empathy for the victims and it gave her great concern he has a complete and total lack of responsibility. Rivenes has a four and a half page criminal history and the pre-sentence investigation in the case was 481 pages. Rivenes was also ordered to pay a combined 63-thousand dollars in restitution.
