After spending nearly a year in county jail and taking a crash course in criminal law, a Butler man originally reached a plea deal Tuesday for statutory sexual assault.

Brandon F. Moore, 25, pleaded guilty to the felony, and prosecutors agreed to drop the more-serious charges Moore faced. Under the plea deal, Moore will be sentenced to 11 and a half months to 23 months in jail. He has been incarcerated in Butler County Prison since March 21, 2019, and last summer it was determined that Moore has a mild intellectual disability and needed one-on-one education to learn about the legal process he was entangled in. Moore most likely will be given credit for time already served, allowing him to be paroled. He also must serve 25 months of probation.

Moore initially faced charges of rape, statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats, indecent assault and simple assault.

On July 12, Curtis Mayernik, a Pittsburgh-based psychiatrist who specializes in competency evaluations, visited Moore at the county jail to determine his mental competency to stand trial. He determined that Moore is unable to be tried until he brushes up on criminal legal proceedings. Common Pleas Judge William Shaffer permitted Leland Clark, a Butler-based attorney, to acquaint Moore with the law. After several weeks of jail visits lasting 30 to 60 minutes each under Clark's guidance, the court determined in January that Moore had a better understanding of the legal situation, allowing his case to proceed.

Moore's offense does not require a sex offender registration.

By pleading guilty to statutory sexual assault, Moore admitted to having a consensual sexual relationship with an underage girl in 2018.