Principal charged over hypnotized Fla. students

NORTH PORT, Fla. - Criminal misdemeanor charges have been filed against a former southwest Florida high school principal accused of using hypnosis on students.

Officials say George Kenney hypnotized two North Port High students before their separate suicides last year. Kenney had been warned by his boss to stop using such one-on-one hypnosis with students.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports Kenney informed school district officials this week that he'll resign his job, effective June 30. Kenney was reassigned during a months-long investigation into his use of hypnosis.

Prosecutors decided not to file felony charges of unlicensed practice of health care. The misdemeanor charges of unlicensed practice of hypnosis carry a maximum of up to a year in jail.

A state attorney's investigation included interviews with hundreds of people.