Wayne Treacy, Fla. teen, gets 20 years in prison for stomping attack on girl, 15

(AP) FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A South Florida teenager has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for a vicious stomping attack outside a middle school that left 15-year-old Josie Lou Ratley with permanent brain injuries.

PICTURES: Josie Lou Ratley, Steel-Toed Attack Victim

A judge imposed the sentence Monday on 18-year-old Wayne Treacy. He was convicted in July of attempted first-degree murder in the 2010 attack on Ratley  outside the Deerfield Beach Middle School.

Treacy unsuccessfully used an insanity defense, claiming he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the recent suicide of his older brother. The attack on Ratley came after the two of them exchanged a series of insulting text messages, including one about the dead brother.

Mental health experts agreed that Treacy suffers from mental illness, but prosecutors said he knew right from wrong.

Complete coverage of Wayne Treacy on Crimesider