WAILUKU, Maui — A Maui man was sentenced yesterday to a 20-year prison term for delivering a near-fatal punch to his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter last year.

Francisco Ramirez, 27, said he was embarrassed and disgusted by his actions, which he has come to deeply regret.

Ramirez said he accepts full responsibility for striking Shari Rodrigues, and would use his time in prison to learn to "never let my anger, frustration and stress get the better of me again."

"I am not a monster. ... I wish people would see inside of me to see the shame, embarrassment and pain inside me," he said.

The defendant told police he punched the girl in the abdomen on March 15, 2006, because she wouldn't listen to him and gave him a disrespectful look. At the time, he was living with the child's mother at the Na Hale O Waine'e homeless resource center in Lahaina.

Paramedics found Shari unconscious with injuries that included a skull fracture, broken ribs and severe internal injuries. As a result of the attack, the girl spent two months hospitalized in Honolulu. She lost her spleen and part of her pancreas, and suffered permanent brain damage, impaired vision and partial paralysis of her right hand.

The girl's grandmother, Kihei resident Cheryl Oelrich, told Maui Circuit Judge Joel August the child still requires regular visits to O'ahu for medical care and remains frail and susceptible to infections and other potentially life-threatening ailments.

Oelrich, 50, whose son is Shari's father, adopted the child in June and changed the girl's last name to her own.

Oelrich said Shari scratches at the surgical scar on her belly and begs for it to be removed, and shows other signs of her ordeal.

"Shari no longer plays mommy with her doll. She now imitates the endless medical procedures she has undergone," Oelrich said.

Before issuing the sentence, August questioned Ramirez's characterization of the crime.

"This was not a question of anger management, which is a euphemism for the extremely violent acts that people do. This particular incident takes on the ramifications of something that is sociopathic in nature, or psychopathic in nature. It's something certainly beyond anger management," August said.

The judge acknowledged that Ramirez seemed sincere in his remorse, but said the man hit the child in "a moment of rage against a completely defenseless human being who will have her life changed forever. You can't take that back."

Because of burglary convictions in 2001 and 1999, Ramirez will serve at least 13 years and four months behind bars before he is eligible for parole. The Hawai'i Paroling Authority ultimately will decide how much time he spends in prison.

Ramirez originally was charged with attempted murder but pleaded no contest in July to attempted manslaughter.

Deputy Prosecutor Robert Rivera said it was a difficult decision to accept a plea agreement, but "the bottom line is that the state was looking for a guarantee this defendant would be removed from society for a long period of time where women and children would not fear his fury and his fists."

Shari's mother initially was arrested in the case but was not charged. Rivera said after the hearing that the woman was out shopping when the assault occurred.

The woman has a troubled past with state Child Welfare Services, losing custody of her several children on various occasions, according to lawyers involved in the case. She and Ramirez have a 2-year-old son together.

Shari was first placed with Oelrich in July 2004, and was returned to her mother six months before she was assaulted by Ramirez.

After the hearing, Oelrich said she hopes the parole board will impose the maximum 20-year penalty against Ramirez. She also was angry with Child Welfare Services' handling of the case.

Despite Shari's injuries, doctors have dubbed the girl "a medical miracle" because of her recovery, Oelrich said.

The girl attends a special-education preschool and is ready with a smile, she said.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.