Leniency sought for Bucks woman convicted in attack on Philly gay couple

Kathryn Knott (center) exits the criminal justice center with her family and supporters. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

Kathryn Knott (center) exits the criminal justice center with her family and supporters. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

The Bucks County woman who was sentenced to up to 10 months in jail for her role in the attack on a gay couple in Center City will be back in court Monday. 

The judge who presided over the trial has agreed to hear arguments that Kathryn Knott, 25, should  receive a more lenient sentence.

Common Pleas Judge Roxanne Covington said last month when she sentenced Knott that “it’s very difficult to unring a bell that’s been rung.”

Covington called the 2014 group assault of two men a human rights violation. Prosecutors say Knott and others committed a hate crime by targeting their victims who are gay.

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But Knott’s new attorney said his client’s sentence is excessive. He said Knott, who has already served about a month in prison,  should be released on probation and do a public service announcement on gay acceptance.

Monday’s court date is not a resentencing; it’s just an opportunity for the judge to hear the argument for a lesser punishment.

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