Lawyers claim verdict was 'perverse'

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A hearing is set for Wednesday, March 20, on a request for a new trial in a lawsuit seeking civil damages from a substitute teacher who sexually abused a 13-year-old boy.

The motion for a second trial was filed Feb. 6 by attorneys Michael D. and Brandon M. Schwartz, Oakdale, Minn., on behalf of the young man and his family.

In a verdict reached Jan. 16, a 12-person Pierce County jury awarded no damages to the teen or to his father, Christopher Brekken, Prescott.

In July 2008, Ann Knopf, now 44, Ellsworth, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault of child related to encounters with the boy in 2007 when he was a middle school student. She was sentenced to nine months in jail and five years on probation.

In October 2008, the boy’s father filed a civil suit against Knopf, asking for monetary damages for his son and himself. That trial was held Jan. 14-16.

According to the new-trial motion filed by the Schwartzes, the jury’s verdict is “perverse, inconsistent and fails in its inherent purpose to achieve justice.”

For more please read the Feb. 13 print version of the Herald.

Tags: news, crime, courts, ellsworth, prescott