OSSIPEE, N.H. — A Carroll County jury last week found a 63-year-old former Canaan man guilty of sexual assaulting his 9-year-old granddaughter following a two-day trial.
John Knott Jr. now awaits his sentencing on a count of aggravated felonious sexual assault on a child under the age of 13, Carroll County State’s Attorney Michaela Andruzzi said on Tuesday. She said the jury last week deliberated less than an hour before returning a guilty verdict.
The charge carries a penalty of 10 to 30 years in prison. Knott must register as a sex offender for life.
“The county attorney’s arguments to the jury focused on the selection of a vulnerable victim, someone the defendant hoped would not speak, or alternatively, not be believed,” Andruzzi said.
Last week’s trial was the second time Knott contested his case in front of a jury; an earlier trial ended in a hung jury in May, Andruzzi said.
The sexual assault charge stems from 2017, when Alonda Peterson alleged that her father — Knott — sexually assaulted her daughter. The incident occurred at the family’s timeshare condo in North Conway, N.H., while Knott was caring for his granddaughter, who is autistic.
Peterson has since pushed lawmakers to help protect child sexual abuse victims. She had sought a permanent restraining order against her father on her daughter’s behalf while the case was pending, but the law at the time didn’t allow parents to do so, among other limitations. (Knott had lived next door to the Peterson family in Canaan.)
Her lobbying effort was ultimately successful, and the law, which allows guardians to get restraining orders on behalf of children, was signed in June.
Knott is slated to be sentenced on Nov. 27 in the Carroll County courthouse.