A man who randomly slashed a teenager’s neck at the Daytona Beach Pier will spend more than four decades behind bars after being sentenced Tuesday in a Volusia County courtroom.

Jermaine Long was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to 45 years in prison under a plea agreement covering eight criminal charges. Long also apologized in court for his actions.

“I’m sorry for putting the family and the young man through that. But me, I didn’t know what I was doing at the time,” Long said.

Sullivan Clarke, now 14, bears a scar on his neck from the attack, which occurred during Daytona 500 weekend in February. His family said he was watching the Slingshot ride near the pier when Long suddenly lunged at him.

“I saw him and saw his eyes locked on his belly. And I thought to myself, why? Why is he looking at him that way? And then out of nowhere, he lunged. That’s when I yelled. And I ran in that direction,” said Lori, Sullivan’s mother.

Sullivan told the judge the blade came within millimeters of killing him. He addressed Long directly in court.

“I don’t know what kind of life Jermaine Long had but I hope you find Jesus,” Sullivan said.

Long is a registered sex offender who had just been released from jail after prosecutors dropped charges in a separate case. His arrest also came after a string of incidents earlier that same day — incidents that have raised questions from the Clarke family about whether law enforcement acted quickly enough.

Police had responded to a trespassing call involving Long and later received a report that he chased a man and struck him with a sledgehammer at a nearby gas station. Long was trespassed from the gas station but not arrested. Hours later, he was arrested for slashing Sullivan’s throat. Police charged him in the sledgehammer incident two days after that.

“I think it’s really important for the community to know whether the police are actually protecting us or not,” Lori said.

Police previously said they were reviewing the actions of the officers involved earlier that day. As of publication, a response to that inquiry is still pending. This story will be updated once we receive it.

As for Sullivan, he says he is ready to move forward.

“He’s in jail. I’m young. I’m just going to move on. Hopefully this just, like, fades away and stuff,” Sullivan said.