Adrian Williams sat quietly Wednesday as the self-described white supremacist who attacked him in broad daylight last May turned to him and apologized.

“I know what I did was wrong, and I should have never done that,” Charles Butler, Jr., told Mr. Williams. “I just ask for your forgiveness and for your mercy.”

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Helmick sentenced Butler, 34, of the 1000 block of North Michigan Street to seven years in prison. Co-defendant Robert Paschalis, 25, of the same address was sentenced to two years in prison.

Paschalis also told Mr. Williams he was “truly sincerely sorry for what occurred,” and insisted he was “not racist toward anybody.”

Mr. Williams said afterward that he did not find either of the men's apologies sincere. He had asked the court to impose the maximum 10-year sentence.

“I'm glad it's over with. I'm glad they are getting some time, but I didn't really agree with it,” he said. “They should've gotten the max.”

Butler and Paschalis, who are white, pleaded guilty last November to violating the federal Hate Crimes Act for the May 18 racially motivated attack on Mr. Williams, who is black.

Mr. Williams, 47, told the court he never imagined he would be ambushed as he was in front of the place he has called home for 30 years. The attack has left him feeling powerless, paranoid, and at times afraid for his life.

“I don't have any enemies whatsoever so I would've never thought I would have to fight someone in broad daylight in front of my house,” he said.

At the start of the lengthy sentencing hearings, surveillance video that captured the noon assault was played for the court. It showed Butler's pick-up truck driving past Mr. Williams, who was loading items into his own pick-up. Then, about two minutes later, Butler's vehicle returns from the opposite direction, pulls over, and Butler and Paschalis can be seen crossing the street to confront Mr. Williams, who they did not know.

Though there was no audio, Butler admitted he called Mr. Williams by a racial epithet, and both men admitted they attacked Mr. Williams because of his race.

Butler grabbed a broom from the back of Mr. Williams' truck, while the victim used a baseball bat to defend himself. He suffered an orbital fracture and damage to his right eye, and told the court he still suffers from headaches.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Freeman told the court Butler, who has numerous white supremacy tattoos, posted racist comments about the incident on Facebook and admitted in his pre-sentence interview in January that the assault “had everything to do with race.”

Mr. Freeman said Paschalis told police he and Butler were racists but said that unlike Butler, “he had not earned his swastika tattoo yet.”

Mr. Freeman told the court that Butler had never disavowed his white supremacist views, adding, “That in and of itself is the most dangerous part.”

Still, after Butler apologized to Mr. Williams, he turned to the judge and said he had changed his way of thinking.

“I have come to realize that we all live in the same world, and we all bleed the same color,” Butler said, adding that during the 11 months he's been in jail, he had come to realize the impact of his actions and his need to to get along with people of all ethnicities.

“If I continue down the road of my white supremacist views, I will just keep ending up in prison or jail, and I've decided to renounce my views of white supremacy,” he said.

Judge Helmick said Butler's lengthy criminal history, including multiple violent offenses, was troubling.

“I want to believe you when you tell me you have disavowed white supremacy,” Judge Helmick said. “I hope that's true. I simply don't know.”

He said Butler deserved a severe sentence that sends a strong message.

“Any assault, but particularly an assault based solely on the color of his skin... is so deeply offensive and concerning to our society,” the judge said, calling it “a sad day for northwest Ohio and the citizens of Toledo.”

The judge said Paschalis deserved a lighter sentence because, unlike Butler, he had a minimal criminal history, had shown sincere remorse, and had the support of family.

Judge Helmick said that once Butler and Paschalis are released from prison, both will be on supervised release for three years, during which time they may have no communication or interaction with white supremacists, among other conditions.

Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.

First Published April 6, 2017, 4:00 a.m.