The judge in Derek Chauvin's trial has ruled there were four aggravating factors in George Floyd's death, paving the way for him to hand down a heavier sentence.

Judge Peter Cahill said prosecutors proved 'beyond a reasonable doubt' that Chauvin abused a position of trust and authority, treated Floyd with particular cruelty, committed the offenses with children present, and committed his crimes as a group with the active participation of at least three other people.

Cahill said Chauvin was particularly cruel as the black man was 'begging for his life and obviously terrified by the knowledge that he was likely to die' as the white cop knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

The four aggravating factors allow Cahill to go above the normal sentencing guidelines when determining Chauvin's prison sentence next month.

However the court ruling, filed Tuesday and made public Wednesday, does not necessarily mean he will do so and legal experts say it is unlikely Chauvin will get more than 30 years.

Disgraced cop Chauvin, 45, was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, at a state trial in Minneapolis on April 20.

He will be sentenced on June 25 after the court pushed it back from its initial date of June 16.

Even though he was found guilty of three counts, under Minnesota law, Chauvin will only be sentenced on the most serious charge of second-degree murder.

The maximum sentence on this charge is 40 years in prison.

However, for someone with no prior criminal record like Chauvin, Minnesota sentencing guidelines say the presumptive sentence is 12 1/2 years.

Cahill could sentence him to as little as 10 years and eight months or as much as 15 years and still stay within this guideline range.

But prosecutors asked for what is known as an upward departure - arguing there were five aggravating factors during Floyd's death that mean Chauvin should be slapped with a heavier sentence.

Cahill agreed that Chauvin abused his position of trust and authority as a Minneapolis Police Officer when he restrained Floyd in the prone position on the ground causing his death.

He cited several reasons that proved Chauvin had treated Floyd with particular cruelty including the black man's 'slow death' and the 'prolonged nature of his asphyxiation.'

'It was particularly cruel to kill George Floyd slowly by preventing his ability to breath when Mr. Floyd had already made it clear he was having trouble breathing,' he wrote.

'The slow death of George Floyd occurring over approximately six minutes of his positional asphyxia was particularly cruel in that Mr. Floyd was begging for his life and obviously terrified by the knowledge that he was likely to die but during which the Defendant objectively remained indifferent to Mr. Floyd's pleas.'

1. Derek Chauvin abused a position of trust and authority

2. Chauvin treated George Floyd with particular cruelty

3. Children were present when Chauvin committed the crimes

4. Chauvin committed his crimes as a group with the active participation of at least three other people.

On the children being present factor, the judge ruled that there were three 17-year-olds and one 9-year-old present as Floyd died, who 'witnessed the last moments of Mr. Floyd's life.'

The 9-year-old girl testified at trial and said that watching Floyd's restraint and death made her 'sad and kind of mad.'

The fourth factor names Thomas Lane, 38, J Alexander Kueng, 27, and Tou Thao, 35, to determine that Chauvin committed his crime as a group with his fellow officers.

Cahill writes that the motion does not determine whether the active participation of the three other officers present at the scene was 'accompanied by the intent and knowledge necessary to establish that they are 'offenders' subject to criminal liability'.

The three other officers are awaiting trial together in August and are not yet convicted of any crime.

Cahill disagreed with the prosecution on a fifth aggravating factor, ruling that it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt that Floyd was particularly vulnerable.

On this factor, the judge wrote that Floyd's drug intoxication did not make him particularly vulnerable compared to other murder victims.

Prosecutors had put forward the five factors as they push for a harsher sentence for the convicted murderer.

Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson had disagreed with the state, saying prosecutors did not prove there were aggravating factors.

He said Chauvin had legal authority to assist in Floyd's arrest and was authorized under law to use reasonable force.

He also said Floyd was not particularly vulnerable, saying he was a large man who was struggling with officers.

Nelson also argued Floyd was not treated with particular cruelty, saying there was no evidence that the assault perpetrated by Chauvin involved gratuitous pain that's not usually associated with second-degree murder.

No matter what sentence Chauvin gets, in Minnesota it's presumed that a defendant with good behavior will serve two-thirds of the penalty in prison and the rest on supervised release, commonly known as parole.

Chauvin is being held in Minnesota's maximum security prison Oak Park Heights as he awaits sentencing.

His attorney filed a motion for a new trial on multiple grounds last week including 'jury misconduct' and abuse of discretion by the court, just two weeks after his conviction.

Nelson claimed the court deprived Chauvin of a fair trial, citing many issues including the judge's refusal to move the trial due to publicity.

It came just one day after it emerged that juror Brandon Mitchell attended a rally last summer where George Floyd's relatives addressed the crowd.

Mitchell, a high school basketball coach, was pictured at the March on Washington event wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, 'GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS' and 'BLM'.

The juror has defended his attendance as he said the event was to commemorate the March on Washington and was not explicitly a protest against police or Floyd's death.

The three other cops face trial together in August on state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.

They have all pleaded not guilty, and were fired from their jobs at Minneapolis PD in the wake of Floyd's death.

The Minnesota AG's Office wants to also add a charge of aiding and abetting third-degree murder to each of their cases.

Floyd, 46, died May 25 after Chauvin pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck, even as Floyd, who was handcuffed, repeatedly said he couldn't breathe.

Kueng and Lane also helped restrain Floyd - state prosecutors have said Kueng knelt on Floyd's back and Lane held down Floyd's legs.

State prosecutors say Thao held back bystanders and kept them from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint.

All four cops were indicted on federal hate crimes charges Friday, accused of willfully violating Floyd's civil rights when he died under Chauvin's knee last May.

They were each charged with failing to provide medical care to Floyd during his fatal arrest outside a convenience store.

Chauvin is further charged with violating Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable force by a police officer, and Thao and Kueng are charged with failing to intervene to stop Chauvin using unreasonable force.

Chauvin was also charged in a second indictment, over a 2017 incident where he knelt on a black 14-year-old boy's neck for nearly 17 minutes and allegedly repeatedly hit him over the head with a flashlight.

This is the first time the convicted killer has ever faced charges over this incident. The 14 year-old involved in that incident has not been named.

If convicted on these federal charges, all four disgraced officers could face the federal death penalty or life in prison.

A federal sentence would be served at the same time as the state sentence.