ALLENTOWN (AP) - A judge on Thursday sentenced a Pennsylvania man to 7 to 15 years in state prison for tossing an acid-like substance on two people during an argument at his home in 2019.

Arnold Bell, 52, blamed the attack on one of the victims and he criticized the legal system as he was sentenced before a judge in Lehigh County.

“What I pray for the most at this point is to get the coronavirus, maybe that would be my way out,” he said.

Bell was convicted of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person stemming from the July 2019 incident at his Allentown home.

He denied the charges. The prosecution concede one of the victims provoked the argument, but Bell’s reaction was unwarranted.

Bell threw what his attorney said was a cup of paint stripper on a woman who was staying at his home and on her boyfriend, who was visiting.

The victims sustained second-degree burns on their chest and arms. The woman required a skin graft.