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

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.

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.