Navajo medicine man David Filfreth, 70, of Aneth, Utah, was sentenced Wednesday in a Farmington courtroom to spend 18 months in state prison, with credit for time already served in jail, the Farmington Daily Times reported.

F ilfred faced up to three years in prison after pleading guilty in June to reduced charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual penetration and contributing to the delinquency of a minor for having sex with a 15-year-old girl and fathering her child, the Daily Times said.

"He is aware of what happened and he is remorseful of the things that have taken place. He has spent time while incarcerated thinking about all that," according to a court interpreter's translation of Filfred's statement in Navajo.

Filfred began serving time at the San Juan County Detention Center in March and was given credit for five months in jail, meaning he has more than a year left on his 18-month sentence to serve in a state facility, the Daily Times said.

Filfred was accused of raping the 15-year-old girl in a Farmington motel room in 2002, after buying the girl and another teenager alcohol, the paper reported. 

5:30am 7/1/08 -- Navajo Elder Facing Jail Time for Rape: 70-year-old medicine man pleaded guilty to having sex with 15-year-old, fathering her child.

David Filfred of Aneth, Utah, a 70-year-old Navajo medicine man, was to have been sentenced Monday to up to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to having sex with a 15-year-old girl, then fathering her child, the Farmington Daily Times reported.

Filfred was facing up to three years in prison after pleading to reduced charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual penetration and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the Daily Times said.

But state District Judge John Dean delayed sentencing so Filfred could be evaluated to see whether the elderly man was a threat to the community, according to the paper.

Dean, however, told Filfred he could expect to spend more than a year behind bars, though the time could be split into terms to allow the elderly man interim free time, the Daily Times said.

Dean rejected defense attorney Steven Murphy's request to allow Filfred to go free for one month for every two served in the county jail, the paper reported.

"The state asked for three years and is disappointed that will not be the sentence," Deputy District Attorney David Ottman said. "What we got, in the end, is hopefully some measure of justice for (the victim) because we have a conviction."

Filfred was accused of raping the 15-year-old girl in a Farmington motel room in 2002 after buying the victim and another teenage girl some alcohol, the Daily Times said.

The victim, who is now 21 years old and has a 3-year-old daughter, has claimed she feared Filfred would "put some kind of spiritual harm on her" if she spoke out about the attack, according to arrest documents.

Although the child could not have been conceived at the time of the rape, paternity tests have verified that Filfred is the 3-year-old's father, the Daily Times said.

Another sentencing hearing is expected to be set within the next 30 days, the paper reported. 

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