A federal court judge has sentenced a 78-year-old white Quincy man to 18 months in prison for threatening to kill an Asian family, telling them to “go back to China” before he drove his car into a member of the family.

Judge Denise J. Casper has also ruled John Sullivan to three years of supervised release following the year-and-a-half stint behind bars, a term shorter than the typical 37 to 46 months for this kind of hate crime.

The sentencing comes months after Sullivan pleaded guilty in April to one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

“Every single man, woman and child living in Massachusetts has a fundamental right to be free from acts of hate and violence,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a release following the Wednesday sentencing in Boston federal court. “The conduct here is truly despicable and this office will dedicate whatever resources are needed to vigorously prosecute these types of hate crimes.

The incident was on Dec. 2, 2022, when a 38-year-old Vietnamese man, his sister and his Chinese brother-in-law went to a Quincy post office with their three children under age 12.

As the brother-in-law waited in the car for his family to come out of the post office, Sullivan pulled his vehicle up behind, honking at the Chinese man, giving him the middle finger while yelling an expletive and to “Go back to China!”

The scene escalated when the family came out of the post office as Sullivan continued to yell “Go back to China!” before threatening to kill them all besides the youngest child, prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

Sullivan admitted to driving and hitting the Vietnamese man, causing the victim to land on the hood of Sullivan’s car in motion. As the victim held onto the hold and windshield wipers screaming for help, Sullivan slammed on his brakes, abruptly stopping before the victim fell off.

Sullivan then accelerated again, hitting the victim a second time and causing him to fall face-first into a 10-foot-deep construction ditch and suffer injuries.

“A run-of-the-mill trip to the post office turned into a nightmare for this Vietnamese man when John Sullivan decided to target him because of the color of his skin and the country of his ancestors,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division.

Prosecutors requested a sentencing of 24 months incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release, restitution of $144,059.00, and that Sullivan participate in classes or community service related to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

They said they recommended a prison sentencing shorter than the length typically recommended due to Sullivan’s age and physical health. Sullivan’s criminal history, they argued, shows past incidents of “harassment and making threats.”

“Sullivan’s racially motivated acts of hatred and violence in this case are representative of the type of intolerant and racist attitudes that belong to a long-forgotten era,” they wrote in a pre-sentencing filing. “This Court is in the position to send a loud and clear message that racist hate and violence is repulsive, unacceptable in our community, and deserving of punishment.”

Defense attorneys requested that Sullivan serve six months of home confinement and then three years of supervised release. They also highlighted his willingness to take classes.

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The defense, in a filing, said there’s “nothing in (Sullivan’s) background” that suggests the incident is a “pattern of conduct,” rather that it was “isolated” and “aberrant behavior.”

In a long history of health problems, Sullivan was diagnosed last week with Wet Macular Degeneration – a buildup of eye fluid that can cause blood vessels in the eye to burst and cause blindness.

“Mr. Sullivan takes full responsibility for his conduct in this case,” the defense wrote. “He is embarrassed by his conduct and wears the shame associated with his conduct. Mr. Sullivan recognizes there is no place in this world for any type of hate-based conduct, especially when the conduct occurs based on a person’s perceived ethnicity.”