Judge won't reduce jail term for Kathryn Knott's role in gay attack

AP logo
Monday, March 14, 2016
VIDEO: Judge denies jail sentence reduction for Kathryn Knott
A young woman convicted for her role in a Center City beating has lost her bid for a lighter sentence.

PHILADELPHIA -- A Philadelphia judge has refused to cut a jail sentence imposed on a suburban police chief's daughter in a group attack on a gay couple.

Kathryn Knott will continue to serve a five- to 10-month jail term in a case that prompted the city to add sexual orientation to its hate crime laws.

Common Pleas Judge Roxanne Covington says the term is not excessive considering the injuries to both the victims and the city's image.

Kathryn Knott learned her fate in a Philadelphia courtroom on Friday.

The 25-year-old Knott has been in jail for just over a month.

Defense lawyer William J. Brennan says Knott deserves the probation that her two male co-defendants received.

But Covington says she declined that plea offer and went to trial.

She found "a complete disconnect" between Knott's statements and the severity of the 2014 crime.

PHOTOS:

TAP HERE on News App for photogallery