Probation was granted Wednesday morning in Christian Circuit Court for 30-year old Tyler Frances, the Hopkinsville man who sexually abused a girl on Easter Sunday of 2019 on a church bus.
Frances pled guilty to first-degree sexual abuse in September as part of a deal that included a five-year sentence and left the decision on probation up to Christian Circuit Judge John Atkins.
Attorney Sands Chewning represents Frances and says an evaluation at Pennyroyal Mental Health showed Frances had been living with undiagnosed autism and ADHD.
The original report said the victim told Hopkinsville police that Frances ripped off her underwear and inappropriately touched her while both were riding the church bus.
Chewning called the incident on the bus a “minor” event and said Frances is ready to begin sex offender treatment.
Judge Atkins probated the five year sentence, saying he doesn’t believe incarceration would accomplish anything.
Frances will be on electronic ankle monitoring for six months and will only be allowed to leave his home for sex offender treatment, employment and mental health treatment.