HILO, Hawai'i — A 30-year prison term was handed down yesterday for a Big Island man who admitted to holding his girlfriend captive for three weeks in Puna, raping her repeatedly and beating her with a golf club, a piece of pipe and other objects.

Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara told Ernest Horcajo III that the man's vicious assaults on the woman in 2004 made Hara wonder how one human being can treat another with such brutality.

"It just goes beyond my comprehension in terms of who we are as human beings," Hara told Horcajo before imposing consecutive sentences.

In December, Horcajo pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault. He pleaded no contest to kidnapping.

In exchange for those guilty and no-contest pleas, prosecutors agreed to drop two charges of attempted murder.

The woman Horcajo attacked, who was 19 at the time, suffered a broken jaw, a broken nose, six broken ribs, a ruptured spleen and a ruptured kidney during the 2004 ordeal.

Gladys Hinau, an 'Ainaloa resident who rescued the woman by convincing Horcajo to briefly leave the woman unattended, told Hara at the sentencing hearing that Horcajo is "an evil menace to society."

Hinau, a nurse, told Hara the injured woman stopped breathing twice as Hinau drove her to seek help, and Hinau had to revive her.

"She would have been murdered if I hadn't been there," Hinau said. "If you should let him out, what are the next victims going to be like?

"I'm asking you to give him the worst possible (sentence) that the state of Hawai'i allows. Otherwise, there will be next victims," she said.

The woman who was assaulted attended the sentencing, but did not testify before Hara. After the hearing, the woman said in an interview that she wished it had been possible for Horcajo to be sentenced to life in prison. She said she believes the sentence was fair, "but what he did to me is still going to haunt me the rest of my life."

Court records show Horcajo was charged with 24 offenses before this case, and was twice convicted of abuse of a family or household member. He also had previous convictions for assault and endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.

At the time he was arrested in 2004, he was being sought by police for violation of his probation in two previous criminal cases, according to court records.

Horcajo, 26, told Hara he accepts responsibility for his crimes, and "I'm sorry for what I done to the victim." He added that "with the right treatment, I'm ready to be a better person."

Horcajo's lawyer, William Heflin, asked that Horcajo be sentenced to 20 years instead of the 30 years in consecutive sentences. He said Horcajo took responsibility for his actions, and that Horcajo was raised in an abusive household and exposed to drugs at an early age.

Horcajo's minimum prison term will be set by the Hawai'i Paroling Authority, but he must serve a court-ordered minimum of six years and eight months. He also must complete a five-year prison term he is now serving for a previous assault conviction before he can begin serving the sentence imposed yesterday.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.