“Maniacal” and “sociopathic” behavior has landed a Youngsville man in state prison.

Michael B. McGuire was sentenced by Judge Gregory Hammond on Friday on charges of strangulation and simple assault.

Youngsville Borough police alleged in the affidavit of probable cause that McGuire punched and kicked the victim several times, then choked her and tried to cover her mouth with duct tape which didn’t stick.

The victim told police that McGuire punched her in the head and face and that she is pregnant and he kicked her in the stomach “about five times,” according to the affidavit. “She also stated he dumped honey over her head and cut her jacket with scissors.”

According to police, McGuire admitted to pouring honey over her head and cutting the jacket but denied all the other actions.

He pled guilty to strangulation — applying pressure to throat or neck and simple assault — back in September.

In exchange for the plea, charges of strangulation – blocking the nose and mouth of the person, harassment and aggravated assault unborn child were not prosecuted.

His attorney, Brian Arrowsmith, told the court that what McGuire did to his wife last December was “uncalled for, inappropriate and shameful.”

He said that McGuire has gained insight into the ramifications of his conduct to his wife, his children, and the unborn child and said there is “still some work for him to gain an absolute insight.”

Arrowsmith said McGuire has accepted responsibility for his actions by taking the plea as he didn’t want to put the victim through a trial.

He cited his client’s lack of a prior record score and indicated his hope is that this is an isolated event.

“He is a hard worker,” Arrowsmith said, and “wants to support those dependent on him,” asking for a county sentence to be able to stay near family that supports him, as well.

He said that McGuire’s wife wants a severe consequence but said that his client has things to work on that incarcerating and warehousing him might not help.

“The Commonwealth could not disagree more,” District Attorney Rob Greene said, noting that the conduct “demands a severe consequence”

The victim is “absolutely terrified of Mr. McGuire.”

He noted that McGuire kicked the victim in the stomach “with his baby inside saying” the baby wasn’t his.

Greene asked for an aggravated range sentence, citing the fact that the victim was pregnant and that McGuire subsequently violated a protection from abuse order (PFA) issued in the case.

“He has shown little to no remorse,” Greene said.

McGuire declined the opportunity to comment.

Hammond then excoriated McGuire.

“You strangled your pregnant wife,” he told McGuire, detailing the kicking, punching, honey incident and jacket cutting, as well.

“It seems like you tried to do everything in your power… to humiliate and terrify her,” Hammond said, calling his behavior “unconscionable” and “outrageous.”

He then detailed that McGuire harassed her on social media after the imposition of the PFA.

“She came to the court asking for my help,” Hammond said, noting that he sentenced McGuire to three to six months incarceration as a result. “Far from retribution, she has a right to be safe.”

He then specifically addressed McGuire kicking the pregnant victim in the stomach.

“That’s maniacal,” Hammond said. “That’s sociopathic.”

He called the assault “brutal” and “completely unprovoked.

“If anyone had the right to demand retribution, I guess it would be her,” he said, indicating he has done the “bare minimum” to show remorse. “Being in jail for a whole year without abusing anyone doesn’t mean much for me.”

He then announced that the sentence would be aggravated because the victim was pregnant, the “brutal nature” of the assault and the PFA violation where Hammond said he “thumbed your nose at that court order.

McGuire was then sentenced to 36 to 72 months incarceration, $1,625 in fines and fees, a no-contact/trespass order, submission of a DNA sample and domestic violence programming on the strangulation charge. He is boot camp eligible but is not recidivism risk reduction incentive eligible. On a count of simple assault, he was sentenced to four to eight months incarceration consecutive and a $500 fine.

Arrowsmith then challenged Hammond and said that the criminal information — the specific language of the charges — didn’t say where he kicked or punched the victim.

“If you think there’s an appealable issue, have at it,” Hammond fired back. “The record supports all of my comments.”