The Bainbridge Island man accused of molestation and rape has been sentenced to nearly one year in custody on reduced charges.

George R. Miller, 25, was sentenced to 364 days in custody for fourth-degree assault; reduced from a charge of rape. A second charge for child molestation was dropped.

Miller was scheduled to stand trial on Monday, Jan. 28, but he filed for an Alford Plea on Wednesday, Jan. 23. A defendant does not admit guilt with an Alford Plea, but acknowledges that there is sufficient evidence against them in a case.

Miller was sentenced to 364 days in custody. He was placed on probation, however, with a reduced sentence of 30 days in custody which he already served after being arrested last year.

The terms of his probation require Miller to refrain from any contact with the victim and receive a psychosexual evaluation.

Prosecutors describe Miller as being developmentally disabled, and said that a trial may have been difficult.

“If it had gone to trial, things would have been coming at him so quickly, and I don’t know if he would have understood everything that was going on,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chad Enright with the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office.

Miller was arrested in February 2012 after a woman claimed she was raped at his Bainbridge Island residence.

Miller was also accused of molesting a 7-year-old girl in the bathroom of the Safeway on High School Road around the same time.

In light of his disability, Miller’s competency to stand trial was challenged last year after he was arrested.

While he was found to be competent, prosecutors still felt that a trial may be too much for him to handle.

“He was found competent, but my concern was that just because you are competent today doesn’t mean you are going to be competent as things go on,” Enright said.

The issue played a part in the rape charge that was modified to fourth-degree assault.

“The defendant and the victim are both developmentally disabled,” Enright said.

The victim told prosecutors and defense attorneys that what she understood about sex came from watching television crime dramas such as “Law and Order.” When attorneys took a closer look at the incident, the charge was reduced to assault.

“What she described was assault in the fourth degree, and wasn’t consistent with what she told law enforcement,” Enright said.

The second charge for child molestation was dismissed. The family of the young victim moved out of the area since the incident.

They declined to further participate in the proceedings, leaving prosecutors with little to work with on the case.

Enright notes that the case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning that it could be refiled should other evidence become available or the family decides to testify.