Demetrius Colvin caught a break at his sentencing hearing Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court. He also got a stern warning.

Colvin, 21, was accused of brutally assaulting his girlfriend at her St. Paul apartment while their year-old son watched. He was charged with seven felonies and pleaded guilty Sept. 9 to one felony count of second-degree assault after the victim recanted her statement to police.

District Judge Margaret Marrinan stayed execution of a 5 1/2-year sentence, double what is called for by state sentencing guidelines, but warned Colvin that if he caused any trouble he'd go to prison.

She then ordered him to serve a year in the workhouse for an assault she called "one of the most depraved cases I've ever seen in the time I've been on the bench."

D'Metra Tate, 22, Colvin's girlfriend and mother of his son, asked Marrinan to lift the no-contact order so the family "can move forward" and get some counseling.

Tate said the case was blown out of proportion. "I don't fear for my safety with Mr. Colvin," she told the judge. "I feel we're all ready to move forward."

Marrinan refused to lift the no-contact orders and told Tate that she is the protector of her child and that children absorb what they see their parents do.

When it was his turn to speak, Colvin expressed remorse, saying he'd seen abuse between his parents and didn't want his son to grow up that way.

"It's not the time I'm fearing, it's the kid," he said. "That's what I have to live with. There's not enough time in the world that will make me feel better about what I've done."

Marrinan said: "Maybe something is getting through to you. You'll be given one chance to change. If you don't, the consequence will be major time in prison."

Pat Pheifer • 651-298-1551