A California boy who was trying to protect his younger sister from being sexually attacked died after the suspect beat him with a hammer during the incident.

Eight-year-old Dante Daniels suffered massive trauma after being beaten with a hammer on September 1. The child died less than a week later, according to Fox 40.

Police say he was attacked and beaten while trying to protect his 7-year-old sister from sexual abuse.

Sacramento Police charged Deandre Chaney Jr., 23, with murder and a list of sexual charges after being found by police in Nevada where he had fled after his alleged part in the crime.

The suspect was the ex-boyfriend of the children’s mother, Elizabeth Salone.

Court records also accused Chaney of hitting Salone with the hammer causing permanent blindness in one eye.

Little Dante’s grandmother, Monique Brown, told the media that the 7-year-old sexual abuse victim “will need a lot of help” to get over her trauma.

Brown said doctors were able to harvest the little boy’s heart and that the organ went to save the life of a 4-year-old child in Southern California.

The suspect had a long history of sexual abuse charges and was charged with failing to register as a sex offender in 2014.

A GoFundMe page was set up help defray hospital costs. Thus far over $85,000 has been collected.

“The children will never be the same from this tragedy nor will their mother. They will be traumatized from such vicious crime. They will need to start over from the ground up. Anything helps pray, share, a small donation,” the page reads.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston