PEPIN, Wis. — A 44-year-old western Wisconsin man accused of beating an Asian hunter last year must perform community service to the Hmong community as part of a sentence issued earlier this month, but the sentence has infuriated a state legislator.

Kevin J. Elberg of Pepin was sentenced in Pepin County Circuit Court after pleading no contest to one count of misdemeanor battery in the case.

He was charged in December 2014 with aggravated battery and false imprisonment following a Nov. 5 incident on his father’s hunting land.

According to the charges, Elberg was hunting on the land when he encountered 64-year-old Sao Lue Vang. Vang told investigators he apologized for the accidental intrusion, but was struck from behind by Elberg.

Vang, who told authorities he was hunting on public land until wandering onto the private property, was repeatedly beaten and kicked by Elberg, according to the charges.

According to a letter to Pepin County Circuit Judge James Duval from Hmong 18 Council of Wisconsin President Blia Yao, Vang sustained a lacerated liver in the incident and was hospitalized for three days.

Elberg said Vang had pointed his gun at him — a claim Vang refuted.

A news release from state Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, D-Milwaukee, issued harsh criticism over Duvall’s sentence and described in greater detail what allegedly happened after the assault. Elberg called his parents — rather than emergency crews, Brostoff noted — and threw Vang in the back of a pickup to drive him from the scene.

“They did so without taking Vang’s injuries into account, further endangering his physical well-being and without his consent,” Brostoff’s news release states.

The incident touched off a rally by a Hmong group that claimed the assault was racially motivated.

The Hmong 18 Council’s letter called on Duvall to impose the maximum penalty at sentencing.

“Mr. Vang and the entire Hmong community now look to you Judge James Duvall, to ensure freedom and justice in this case,” Yao’s letter states, referring to “ghastly acts against a helpless senior citizen.”

Duvall sentenced Elberg to two years on probation, 10 days in jail and 72 hours of community service to the Hmong community. His hunting privileges are suspended until community service is completed.

Brostoff called the sentence “paltry.”

“Sao Lue Vang and his family have been let down by our justice system,” Brostoff said in the news release. “This is the worst of insults to the Vang family after Sao Lue suffered life-threatening injuries.”