ELYRIA — Matthew Plas was sentenced to 33 years in prison Monday for a brutal attack that left Shawn Stevens paralyzed from just above her waist down.

It wasn’t long enough, Stevens, 45, said after Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Edward Zaleski handed down the sentence, calling Plas one of the top 10 worst criminals he’s seen in his 21 years on the bench.

“I wish the judge would have shown him the same mercy he showed me, which was none,” Stevens said.

The maximum sentence that Zaleski could have imposed on the 26-year-old Plas was 72 years in prison on the 17 counts ranging from attempted murder and attempted rape to felonious assault and kidnapping that Plas pleaded guilty to in September.

Plas’ family had asked for leniency, pointing to Plas’ troubled childhood and life. Plas himself apologized to Stevens during the hearing, saying he wished he could trade places with her and undo the events of May 6, 2008.

“I cannot express how truly sorry I am for my horrible and hurtful actions,” Plas said to Stevens.

Plas said he is not a monster, but rather a caring father to his own son.

“I would never in a million years expect you to accept my apology,” he said.

Stevens spent 113 days in MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland recovering from her injuries. She has been in and out of the hospital ever since, dealing with heart problems, blood clots and constant pain.

She likely will never walk again, but still insists that she hopes to do so one day.

Stevens and her family told Zaleski that Plas — who occasionally wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his jail uniform as Stevens spoke — ruined her life.

The mother of three said she always had wanted boys to wrestle with, but had three girls. Now she has grandsons, but is confined to a wheelchair.

“I have access to three rooms in my house, which has become my prison,” she said.

Rickie Baxter, Stevens’ brother, also called on Zaleski to keep Plas behind bars for as long as possible.

“Nobody is going to parole my sister from this wheelchair,” he said.

After the hearing, Stevens’ mother, Bonnie Sorensen, broke down sobbing at what happened to her daughter and the pain she now has to endure.

“I’d like my daughter back,” she said.

Assistant County Prosecutor Peter Gauthier said Plas’ crime was horrific because Stevens was a random victim. He said Plas was “lucky” that Stevens didn’t die.

If she had, Gauthier said, Plas would have been facing the death penalty at his sentencing hearing instead of a lengthy prison term.

Stevens was hiking alone on a trail in Carlisle Reservation when she passed Plas, who shot her in the back. The bullet damaged her spinal cord and lodged near her heart.

When she cried out for help, Stevens has said Plas beat her with a fallen tree branch, knocking teeth loose. She said she begged for her life, but instead Plas sexually assaulted her as she lay on the ground.

At one point Stevens said Plas agreed to go for help, but returned alone 10 or 15 minutes later and began to carry her to a car, dropping her several times as she played dead.

Plas had planned to throw her in a river, Stevens said, and they were struggling by the trunk of his car when Lane Crittenden, a passing motorist, stopped to see what was wrong. Plas told him he and Stevens were a couple, but Stevens said she did what she could to let Crittenden know she was in trouble.

Plas, she said, tried to stuff her in the trunk, but she stuck her hand into the latch to prevent the trunk lid from closing completely and held on as Plas sped away, hitting speeds of more than 90 mph.

Another set of passers-by, Glenn Rising and his wife, were on their way to a medical appointment when they pulled up behind Crittenden to see what was wrong. Crittenden called out for them to follow Plas and they did, calling 911 as they chased him.

Plas dumped Stevens behind an abandoned building and drove a short distance more before abandoning his car — where Stevens’ keys and purse were found — and fleeing on foot back into Carlisle Reservation.

Another good Samaritan found Stevens and waited with her while until medical help could arrive, Gauthier said.

Plas was found hiding in a swampy area of the park and told law enforcement that he had been taking a nap. His defense attorney, Kenneth Lieux, has said Plas was drunk at the time and had little recollection of the attack on Stevens.

Before Monday’s hearing, Plas withdrew a request to fire Lieux and withdraw his guilty plea.

In addition to the prison sentence, Zaleski also classified Plas as a Tier III sexual offender, which means he will have to report to the county sheriff where he lives and works every 90 days for the rest of his life after he is released from prison.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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