Fulton County DA: Man convicted in Mayfield sexual abuse case; Involved peep hole, threats
Jul. 21—JOHNSTOWN — A Fulton County jury this week convicted a man in a Mayfield sexual abuse case that involved allegations of threats and a peep hole drilled in a wall, Fulton County District Attorney's officials said Wednesday.
Brian C. Knapp, 33, residence unavailable, was convicted of one count each of first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree coercion, felonies, and one count of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
The jury returned its verdict after about two-and-a-half hours of deliberation. Knapp is to be sentenced in September.
The investigation began in June 2019, when sheriff's investigators received allegations that Knapp had sexually abused an 11-year-old and then coerced and endangered the child two years later, prosecutors said.
The victim told investigators Knapp had sexually abused her and that he later threatened to destroy her phone if she did not show him intimate parts of her body, prosecutors said.
The victim then provided investigators with text messages from Knapp where he repeatedly asked for inappropriate photographs of her and she told investigators about a "peep hole" Knapp had drilled to watch her undress.
Investigators soon located the peep hole and questioned Knapp. Knapp then admitted to threatening the victim to see her in various states of undress and he confirmed much of what the victim had said happened, prosecutors said.
"This case was the result of hard work by members of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office and ultimately would not have been possible without the testimony of a brave girl who spoke up and told her story of abuse to strangers in a courtroom," prosecutors said in a statement. Thank you to the jurors who heard what she had to say and returned verdicts that were consistent with her testimony."
Assistant District Attorney Katherine Ehrlich prosecuted the case. Knapp was represented by attorney Stephen Coffey.
