A Holland man will spend three years in prison for the aggravated assault of his pregnant girlfriend last summer.

Ian Frederick Short, 23, was ordered to serve a minimum of three to five years in prison when sentenced Monday, Feb. 17, in Ottawa County Circuit Court.

He was also ordered to pay restitution of $8,480.30 for the victim’s medical bills.

Prosecuting Attorney Meghan Hurley asked Judge Karen Miedema to go above the guidelines for sentencing because the defendant was continuing to escalate his assaults.

Defense Attorney John Moritz argued this was his client’s first felony conviction, and he disagreed with the prosecutor that Short was a threat to the community.

Short entered guilty pleas to aggravated assault and felonious assault in early December 2019.

“I feel I’ve been done an injustice in this court today,” Short said when asked if he wanted to comment.

Short said that he disagreed with the sentencing guidelines and accused the victim of lying about her injuries.

“I never strangled her,” he claimed.

Short said he was sorry about what he did do and accepted responsibility for that.

He noted he was trying to get help for his mental illness, but felt like the criminal justice system was ignoring his needs.

Miedema held up pictures of the victim’s bruised body and said the pictures and the medical report were proof of the injuries.

Short said he doesn’t agree the injuries are permanent and incapacitating. He also said he saw the pictures and read the report.

A series of beatings occurred on July 1, 2019, after Short looked at his girlfriend’s phone and became upset with her.

Miedema, while looking at a report, said Short left the scene, returned later and again assaulted his girlfriend.

After choking the 18-year-old woman, Short hit her with a cane to the point of breaking the cane, Miedema said.

At a court hearing last week, the victim told the judge she suffered bruises on her arms, legs, stomach and ear. She has a traumatic brain injury and can’t hear out of her right ear.

The woman said she is seeing therapists for speech, vision and memory. She also gave birth to her child two months early and signed over parental rights to her own parents.