It only took the jury about an hour to find Bryon Gordon guilty of sexually abusing a mentally disabled man.. News 12 spoke with the victim's family after the verdict was in and they said their family can finally start the healing process.

"We welcomed him into our family," said the victim's relatives Kathy Grove and Linda Jacobs. "We loved him, we trusted him, he was a law enforcement officer, we trusted Ricky with him and this was an intense betrayal."

Gordon took the stand Friday morning, telling jurors he has been in law enforcement for 15 years as a Garvin County Sheriff's Deputy, Boswell and Colbert Police Chief and at the time of his arrest in January 2017, a Paoli reserve officer.

He told the courtroom there was "no way" he forced a 33 year-old man with down syndrome to perform oral sex on him several times at the Choctaw Casino hotel in 2016.

But the defense fell short. Gordon's face was motionless, his eyes glued to the floor when the jury found him guilty of oral sodomy.

Gordon also faced a charge of rape by instrumentation, but that was dropped.

"Nothing easy about this for either side," the family said. "I know it's difficult for his family as it is for ours and i'm relieved for Ricky it's over."

The family said their nephew now lives in fear as a result of what happened in that hotel room nearly two years ago.

The jury recommended ten years in prison but sentencing is scheduled in June.

"People with disabilities are some of the most vulnerable out there and it's up to us to protect them and keep them around people who you trust," the family said. "Unfortunately, Bryon Gordon was somebody we trusted. We believe justice was served. We'd like to thank the DA's office, the investigators and we want the jury to know we appreciate their work."