The teenager who attacked Michael Levy with an axe in 2006 and left him paralyzed for life was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday.

Michael Levy outside the Surrey, B.C., courthouse in August last year where a judge found three teens guilty of the beating that left him a quadriplegic.
(CBC)

In handing down the sentence, B.C. provincial court Judge Kenneth Ball said Enrique Quintana's actions are among the "most serious to be contemplated, short of murder."

The sentence was longer than the six years in jail the Crown had recommended.

Quintana will serve eight years and three months in jail after getting credit for the time he has already spent in custody.

Rishi Gill, Quintana's lawyer, said the defence will take time to review the sentence before deciding whether to file an appeal.

"Certainly any time that a court goes above a recommendation by the Crown it's strong grounds for appeal," he said. "Whether or not it's successful is a different story, but certainly it will be looked at very carefully.

Crystal Levy, the victim's sister, said outside the court that she's satisfied with the sentencing.

"To know he's going to sit in jail for eight years and three months and think about what he did and why he's there, is enough for me," she said.

"For the next eight years, I can sleep better knowing that somebody else isn't sleeping so great," she said.

Michael Levy was not in court for the sentencing but his mother, Deborah Levy, said he would be pleased with the outcome.

'I can sleep better knowing that somebody else isn't sleeping so great.'— Crystal Levy, sister of Michael Levy

"At least Michael can say now, you know, 'My accident didn't go totally … because we made a difference.' Michael made a difference," she said.

Levy was beaten with a beer bottle, pepper-sprayed and struck with a hatchet three times at a dance at the Surrey Tynehead Hall on Oct. 28, 2006.

Quintana is one of three people who struck Levy. He slashed Levy, now 19, three times with a hatchet, severing the teen's spinal cord.

Nguyen's sentence has been appealed

The other two men involved have already been sentenced.

In December, Robert Alexander Green was given three years in jail, less one year for time served at a Burnaby youth facility. Tuan Minh Nguyen received a 20-month conditional sentence to be served in the community.

Last month, B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal ordered an appeal of the sentence given to Nguyen, now 18. After the sentencing, Nguyen and some friends entered a B.C. provincial courthouse elevator and then laughter rang out — laughter which was caught by a CBC camera.

In August, the judge found the three teenagers, all aged 17, guilty of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. A fourth, accused of being an accessory to the crime, was acquitted.

The Crown sought to have the three teenagers sentenced as adults because of the severity of their crimes.