A South Carolina man will spend more than a decade in prison after pleading guilty to criminal charges related to an incident that left his ex-girlfriend permanently scarred.

According to the New York Post, 23-year-old Seth Aaron Fleury was sentenced almost a year after he arranged a meeting with the victim with an ostensible goal of talking about their relationship.

Instead, the couple engaged in a dispute on Oct. 21 when his former romantic partner told him that she did not share his desire to rekindle their romance.

Fleury responded by attempting to kiss the woman and then biting her lip so hard it detached and could not be replaced with emergency plastic surgery, as reported by The State.

Police reports indicate the victim “pulled away” as the suspect “bit down on her bottom lip with such force that her lip was amputated.”

Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins released a statement asserting that the case “demonstrates the unique circumstances under which domestic violence occurs, and how quickly these situations can escalate to violence.”

He said it is his hope that a 12-year sentence, which Fleury will have to serve 85 percent of before being eligible for parole, will send the right message.

“Hopefully this prison sentence will make it clear to both this defendant and other abusers that domestic violence in any fashion will not be tolerated,” Wilkins said.

The victim in this case was reportedly left with “permanent, serious scarring and permanent, limited range of motion in her mouth.”

[Featured image: Seth Aaron Fleury, Greenville County Detention Center]