Rasheen R. Perez, who was sentenced to eight years in prison Wednesday for assaulting his pregnant wife two years ago and beating her in front of their children a year later, told a judge he would "fight with all I've got to get back in (his wife's) good graces."

His wife, however, had already asked the court to impose a standing criminal protective order prohibiting Perez from having contact with her or her children for the next 50 years.

"Mr. Perez's intent was to kill me," Stephanie Perez said in her victim impact statement. "The few seconds I came to during the assault he told me he was not going to stop."

Perez, 36, had pleaded guilty in February to assault on a pregnant woman, second-degree assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of violation of a protective order. He wore a neon orange prison jumpsuit and shackles as marshals led him into the courtroom, where the victim and her supporters filled several rows of benches.

According to prosecutor Sarah E. Steere, Perez came up behind his wife, Stephanie, who was pregnant, pulled her by the hair and struck her in the face three or four times on April 21, 2013. The victim suffered injuries to her face and head but refused medical attention.

On Aug. 5, 2014, Groton City police went to the couple's Brandegee Avenue home to find Stephanie Perez bleeding from the face and head, and eight children crying in an upstairs bedroom, according to Steere. There was blood on the walls, floors and doors, and one of the children, a 2-year-old boy, was covered in his mother's blood and was scratched during the incident. An 11-year-old reported that Perez had punched his mother in a bedroom, then banged her head into a wall as she bled from the face. She suffered a fractured nose and severe swelling.

Perez stood before Judge Kevin P. McMahon and apologized for hurting "the most beautiful creature in the world to me, my wife." He said he had been in and out of foster homes and groups homes as a child and has bipolar disorder.

"I'm just a lost soul, and it's all my fault," he said. "Why? Because my anger got the best of me."

At the time of the August 2014 incident, a court order was in place forbidding Perez from assaulting or harming the victim. After the incident, a judge issued an order prohibiting him from having contact with her. Days later, he called her from prison and apologized, saying he didn't remember the incident, Steere said. In a conversation recorded by the Department of Correction, the wife told him, "I can barely talk. I'm swollen from head to toe with one eye shut," according to Steere.

Stephanie Perez had three children prior to marrying Perez in December 2012 and having a daughter with him in 2013. She was hosting a sleepover for a friend's children in August 2014 when Perez attacked her.

"No child should ever have those thoughts and images in their mind, and there are eight children who will forever have those images," she said.

Her 12-year-old daughter wrote in a letter to the court that Perez should be "locked up for a long period of time" and that she doesn't want him released from prison.

The father of her 2-year-old wrote to the court that he is having trouble concentrating on his duties as a Navy sailor because he fears for his son's safety.

Rachel Ramos, whose children were sleeping over at the Perez home that night, said her daughter called her at work to tell her that Perez had "bashed auntie's face in." It was no exaggeration, she said.

Defense attorney Jennifer B. Nowak said Perez suffers from mental illness and that as long as he receives consistent medical care and takes the right medicine, "things are going to be better."

Judge McMahon noted Perez had been convicted of domestic violence twice before. McMahon said a presentencing investigation revealed new information about Perez, but that he was handing down what he considered a lengthy sentence based on the information before him. He reminded Perez that he is to have no contact with the victim or her children.

"What tells me he's not getting it is he says he will do anything to get back to her," McMahon said. "You can't go anywhere near her. The way you talk about it in court, it's no big deal."

Perez's full sentence is 20 years in prison, suspended after eight years served, followed by five years' probation. The judge imposed a number of conditions, including that Perez undergo psychological and substance abuse evaluations and treatment. 

Perez asked if he could say goodbye to his baby daughter, who sat in the victim's arms during the hearing, and McMahon told him no.

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN