After hearing impact statements today from two of the four women he was convicted of raping, Keith Wood still claimed he was innocent.

The 51-year-old Highland Park man, dubbed the "East End rapist" during a string of home invasion attacks eight years ago in Swissvale, Shadyside, Edgewood, Squirrel Hill and Forest Hills, said he was sorry for what happened to the victims, but he told Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey A. Manning his DNA was never found inside the victims. He testified during the trial that he believed police planted the DNA that matched his at a later date.

The judge explained Mr. Wood had a right to "continue to deny" the allegations despite incontrovertible scientific evidence but said he would deliver "a severe, harsh sentence without mercy, commensurate with what you have done." The judge sent him to prison for 80 to 160 years and approved him to be listed as a "sexually violent predator" for the remainder of his life.

Prior to sentencing, two victims detailed the lasting impact the rapes eight years ago have had on their lives.

A 24-year-old elementary teacher who was raped at her home in Edgewood July 9, 2000, spent weeks at her parents' home lying in a fetal position after the attack. She said, "It has taken eight years and a great deal of therapy to finally feel like I can have . . . intimate moments again with my boyfriend."

A family physician, now 37, said being attacked that same summer at her home in Squirrel Hill derailed her career and permanently damaged her health. She attempted suicide multiple times, she said.