NORTH PORT, Florida (AP) - A southwest Florida high school principal accused of using hypnosis on students will avoid jail time on two misdemeanor charges.

As part of a deal with Sarasota County prosecutors, 52-year-old George Kenney pleaded no contest to practicing therapeutic hypnosis without a license. He was sentenced to one year of probation.

Leave a comment: Would you be ok with someone hypnotizing your child at school?

Officials say Kenney hypnotized two North Port High students before the two, independently of one another, committed suicide last year. Officials say Kenney had been warned by his boss to stop using such one-on-one hypnosis with students. Kenney's attorney has said that the principal's supervisor only expressed concern and never gave him a written directive to stop the hypnosis.

Kenney is currently on administrative duty not at the school. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports that Kenney applied for retirement in December.

Related: North Port High School students petition to get principal back

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