PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A 38-year-old Philadelphia man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for two vicious robberies in 2008. One victim, a 60-year-old woman, was nearly killed.

The case was prosecuted as part of the "Project Safe Neighborhoods" initiative by federal, state and local authorities.

Prosecutor Tom Zaleski says these were horrific crimes. Defendant Anthony Hadaway targeted women working alone. Zaleski says the 60-year-old victim suffered permanent disfigurement.

"The evidence in the case showed that the defendant grabbed the back of the victim's head in the Fashion Unlimited robbery and repeatedly slammed her head to the floor of the store causing multiple facial fractures to both eye sockets, fractured jaw, fractured nose. The victim couldn't see as a result of the injuries. She really didn't know what happened to her because of the severity of the trauma she sustained at the hands of the defendant."

Zaleski says the woman is still suffering from the attack three years ago. She never reopened her business -- both victims' lives changed forever.

Reported by Tony Hanson, KYW Newsradio