The father of a three-year-old girl killed by a 100kg man who stood on her stomach in a moment of anger says he is "disgusted" by the 9½ year jail sentence handed to his child's killer.
Harley Woodford, 22, was alone with his partner's daughter Bella Lawrence in their Horsham home on September 16, 2015, when he tripped over her as he was tidying up after dinner, the Supreme Court in Melbourne heard on Friday.
His partner had gone for a drive with her two other children to try to settle the couple's baby.
Bella, who weighed less than 14 kilograms, was rolled onto her back.
Woodford reacted "in sudden anger", stepping on her stomach with his full 100kg weight, Justice Jane Dixon said.
She became upset and he sent her to bed with a bottle of water, telling her not to tell her mother what had happened.
The court heard that Woodford hid the attack and the child's injuries from his partner, instead telling her that he had sent Bella to bed because she was feeling unwell.
He later revealed he hid this from her because he did not want her to leave him.
The next day she told her mother that her stomach hurt and refused to eat, saying she was going to be sick.
She was only taken to the hospital after noon when she became limp, pale and uncommunicative, the court heard.
Bella was "unresponsive" when she arrived at the hospital, and died at 1.14pm that day.
Speaking outside court on Friday, Bella's father Jonathan Lawrence told reporters the day had been "disgusting".
"Today's sentencing will never be enough to put my family at peace of what has happened," he said on Friday.
"My daughter never made it to his minimum term ... which makes me sick.
"We will never see her face again, never hear her voice again and never be able to tell her we love her again."
Bella's mother Angie Roberts told the court she felt betrayed by Woodford, saying "part of her is missing" since her daughter's death.
Justice Dixon said Woodford had delayed Bella receiving medical care, leaving a "defenceless child" to languish in pain and misery.
It was a "hollow excuse" that he failed to act afterwards because he hoped she was not badly hurt, she said.
"Your crime has had a devastating and lasting effect on those who knew and loved Bella," she said.
Addressing Woodford directly, the judge said, "...You will be forever burdened by the knowledge of what you did to Bella, a defenceless child who looked up to you for care and protection."
The judge said there was "no satisfactory explanation" for his crime other than his immaturity and his inability to manage the demands of full-time work with the responsibility of caring for three young children.
Forensic psychologist Patrick Newton previously told the court the first-time offender was taking cannabis every night to try to reduce his stress at the time of the girl's death, but that this probably increased it.
Mr Newton said this did not affect his mental state at the time. He said he was currently in remission for severe cannabis use disorder.
He was prone to anger over minor things.
A pathologist was initially unsure whether Bella may have suffered from a blood disorder but ultimately concluded she died of "blunt force trauma".
Woodford handed himself into police but only after he found out they were going to investigate her death. He later pleaded guilty to child homicide.
Justice Dixon said that his priority had been to avoid blame for his crime. Since going into custody other inmates had targeted him because of what he had done.
She sentenced Woodford to 9½ years' prison, with a non-parole period of 6½ years.
The maximum penalty for child homicide is 20 years' imprisonment.
With AAP