Scottsdale, ARIZONA

Delayed Justice: Guilty plea to sexual conduct in the 1980s. Finalist for National Teacher of the Year on probation for life.

Sept. 1, 2007 - Paul M. Knutson, 58, a Rogers High School (Rogers, ARKANSAS) science teacher, was arrested on five felony charges, including sexual contact with a minor, furnishing obscene or harmful items to minors, possession and sale of dangerous drugs, possession and sale of marijuana and possession and sale of narcotics.

The charges date back to between 1983 and 1985 in Scottsdale, Arizona when he taught at Chaparral High School. He worked in the Scottsdale Unified School District between 1973 ad 1984.

INDICTED Sept. 4 - Knutson was indicted on felony counts of sexual assault, sexual conduct with a minor and furnishing harmful materials to a minor.

Sept. 5 - Knutson’s ex-wife in Arizona told police that someone told her about the relationship and she confronted Knutson. He admitted it. From documents released by the police, another man also knew of the relationship.

Knutson is scheduled for a hearing Oct 17 to determine whether Scottsdale police have the proper paperwork for his extradition to Arizona.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE Sept 19 - The school board granted Knutson a leave of absence.

A leave of absence is more often granted for medical reasons or for a return to school, assistant superintendent Jane Webb explained after the board meeting. Knutson won’t be paid while he’s on leave, but he could be allowed to return to work if he can resolve the legal issues, she said. No ending date was set for the leave of absence.

NOT GUILTY PLEA Nov 9 - Knutson entered a not guilty plea. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec 13.

INDICTED Nov 13 - The prosecutor's office formally announced the indictment of Paul Knutson. The Grand Jury handed down 13 felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor and drug-related charges.

The woman told police she decided to come forward after nearly 25 years because she is a drug addict and in counseling for her substance abuse problem. She claims that Knutson taught her how to free base cocaine, according to a police report.

Knutson’s wife left him during the alleged incidents because he told her he was in love with the girl and wasn’t going to leave her, according to the report.

At least six cases in which employees of East Valley schools face sexual-related charges involving minors are moving through Maricopa County Superior Court. [They only mention two in the article.]

Dec 16 - Knutson is scheduled to appear at a hearing on Dec. 17. (Source: East Valley Tribune database.)

GUILTY PLEA May 9, 2008 - Knutson pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual conduct with a minor for a sexual relationship he had with a female former student in the early 1980s. He will be sentenced June 20.
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SENTENCED (Sorta) June 20 - Knutson was sentenced to two months in jail - not prison - and probation for the rest of his life. [Article doesn't say if it is supervised probation or unsupervised probation].

Judge Paul McMurdie of Maricopa County Superior Court said Friday he would have sent Paul M. Knutson to prison for up to three years if the offense had happened now, but he gave the teacher credit for living an exemplary life since the crimes happened.

Knutson taught at Chaparral from 1973 to 1984 and had sex with the student who was 16 and 17 from Jan. 1 1984 through April 22, 1985.

REMINDER
Ex-wife, Teachers, Principal Said To Have Known Of Relationship In 1980s (Sep 5, 2007)
A friend of Knutson's said that Knutson constantly spoke about the relationship, the police report stated. The man told police Knutson described the first time he had sex with the girl, in a storeroom attached to Knutson’s classroom.

The man also told police he and Knutson smoked marijuana together and the man believed Knutson provided marijuana to the girl.
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TT - Exemplary record or not, the man deserved prison time and lovercase judge™ Paul McMurdie was wrong to give him a discounted sentence because Knutson was a teacher. At the time of the illegal sex, she was 16 years old and Knutson was 34, twice her age. What does an "exemplary life" have to do with anything? What does it have to do with justice for the victim? It's like sentence reductions for "first time offenders" where the first-time victim has the misfortune to count for less.

(The term "lowercase judge" isn't trademarked, but it does mark those judges who don't deserve honorific capitalization of their titles for their idiotic decisions.)
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CERTIFICATE(S) REVOKED August 25, 2008 - The Arizona State Board of Education voted to revoke the teaching certificates of Paul Milton Knutson. (pg 3)