BUFFALO, N.Y. — Corey Green, 21, will spend up to 15 years in prison after he was sentenced for starting a fire that caused severe injuries for a Lackawanna family.

Kahled Soliman, his wife Claudia and three children under the age of 4 were asleep when Green intentionally set their apartment building on fire in the middle of the night. Burns, broken bones, spinal injuries and lung problems are just some of the physical ailments the family has endured while the emotional and mental trauma continues to take its toll. 

"He sentenced them to a lifetime of pain and suffering forever. It even invaded their dreams," said Kahled's brother, Yaser.

For the Soliman family, no amount of time behind bars for Green can undo the damage done on April 22, 2017 — especially to the children, who may be saddled with what happened that night for a lifetime. 

"They don't go to bed because they fear that the bad guy is going to come back and set their house on fire," Yaser said. "They fear that they're going to wake up to the terror that they woke up to the night that they were set on fire for the rest of their lives. Scars, they say they look like a broken doll, because of this."

Soliman told his family's tragic tale in State Supreme Court Tuesday. He called Green a coward and a psychopath for setting the fire. A judge sentenced Green to five to 15 years in prison, the maximum allowed after a jury found him guilty of four counts of third-degree arson, a lesser charge than the violent felony he originally faced — that could've carried a sentence of 25 years to life.

“I have kind of a mixed feeling today," Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said. "I'm happy that the family got some form of justice by getting the max punishment, but again I would've liked to have seen the max punishment, 25 years to life."

Green's defense attorney argued that Green did not know anyone was inside the house when he set the fire, and the jury had enough doubt to convict him of the lower charge.

“He has remorse. There's no way you can sit and listen to the victims and hear that testimony and not feel remorse," Green's attorney, Brian Parker said. "My client's only option I felt was to go to trial and this was the verdict."

The victims are Muslim, but prosecutors say they lacked evidence to charge Green with a hate crime. Flynn does have concerns about how their religion may have affected the jury's decision, but the judge said he found no signs of that.  

"I know for a fact that when this poor woman who was seriously injured, who had the right to wear her Muslim garb, came into court with full Muslim garb on, I know one of the jurors rolled their eyes. And that upsets me," Flynn said.

Green's conviction and sentence leaves the family angered, feeling like their anguish doesn't matter and the court considers them nothing more than property. 

"He set four separate people on fire grinned about it, though it was funny, grinned about it, set kids on fire and then walks away with a non-violent felony," Yaser said.

Green would not speak on his own behalf at the advice of his attorneys, so no firm motive has come to light. He will be eligible for parole in four years because of time served. Flynn says he'll strongly recommend he stays in prison for the 15-year maximum, and urges the family to continue to tell their story to help make sure of it. Three other families escaped the flames that night without major injuries.