A lawyer for a man who was not charged for a decade over a toddler's death has called on a sentencing judge to consider the impact of the delay on the killer.

Mussie​ Debresay​, 38, was this year found by a jury to have killed a two-year-old girl when he stomped on her abdomen after he became angry she had urinated through her nappy onto his couch in his Footscray unit on May 13, 2005.

Mussie Debresay, who was found guilty of manslaughter. Credit:Justin McManus

Debresay was found guilty of manslaughter, but not guilty of murder. The girl, who cannot be named, was the daughter of Debresay's then partner. The toddler died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

In Debresay's final court appearance before he is sentenced on Wednesday, defence counsel Dermot​ Dann, QC, highlighted as a mitigating factor the length of time between the offence and his client being charged.