At the request of the victim’s family, Superior Court Judge Don Thompson reduced the sentence for a Lookout Mountain man convicted of having an illegal sexual relationship with a person with severe autism.

Judge Thompson, in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, convicted Jimmy George, 79, on five counts of exploitation or intimidation of a disabled adult during a bench trial in August. George testified that he has a sexual relationship with the man, who was 23. But he believed the relationship was consensual.

The victim’s father told the Times Free Press that his son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and has an IQ of 69. He said his son is sometimes afraid to upset people and will go along with actions even if he does not want to. He could not consent to a sexual relationship.

Thompson sentenced George to 20 years in prison in August. But on Tuesday, he accepted an agreement between the defense attorney and the prosecution to reduce George’s punishment. He will serve 2 years in prison, followed by 18 years on probation.

The victim’s father said the family felt the original sentence caused too much pain to George’s daughter, Georgianna Pollock. She and George co-owned Rock Bluff Stables on Lookout Mountain, and Pollock oversaw an equine therapy program.

“We don’t want him dying in prison for his daughter Georgianna’s sake,” the victim’s father said in a text message Wednesday. “Between the devastation of what her father did, losing her therapeutic riding program … she’s suffered enough.”

Read Tyler Jett’s full story at the Times Free Press here.