A man who stabbed and raped a woman in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2012 was sentenced Thursday to 27 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
William E. Seevers, 48, pleaded guilty in April to attempted murder and one count of aggravated sexual abuse by force, U.S. Attorney Bill Killian said in a news release.
Killian said Seevers attacked the woman on the Gatlinburg Trail, stabbing her several times and raping her.
The woman was able to crawl to a road and call out to people for help. She was flown by helicopter to a hospital for treatment and for a DNA sample. The FBI linked the sample to Seevers, who was serving prison time in Atmore, Ala., for other convictions, Killian said.
The woman came to court to provide a victim impact statement about the trauma of the attack and its continuing effect on her life, Killian said.
The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan in Knoxville.