(CNN) An Ohio man has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for participating in the beating of an African-American man during racially charged 2017 protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Daniel Borden received a 20-year sentence Monday, with 16 years and two months suspended -- meaning he will serve just under four years for his role in the beating of DeAndre Harris in a parking garage during the Unite the Right rally in August 2017.

Daniel Borden was one of four men charged in DeAndre Harris' beating.

In May, Borden entered an Alford plea to a charge of malicious wounding, acknowledging there was enough evidence to prove he was among the men who attacked Harris without admitting guilt, according to CNN affiliate WVIR.

On Monday, Borden apologized to the people of Charlottesville and to Harris, who was not in court, the TV station reported. He told the judge he is not a bigot and expressed remorse for his actions.

The defendant was one of four men charged with the beating of Harris at the gathering of white nationalists and other far-right groups that culminated in the death of Heather Heyer when a man drove a car through a crowd of counterprotesters. A jury recommended last month that her killer, James Fields, be sentenced to life in prison

Read More