Wednesday, March, 4 2026 - A nurse has been thrown behind bars after she repeatedly had s£x with a patient and then falsely claimed he sexually assaulted her.
Melissa Knutson was found guilty of misconduct in public
office and obstructing an officer after she engaged in the tryst with the
patient while she was working for the Monroe County Drug Court in 2022.
When authorities were alerted to her antics, the nurse
initially accused the patient of s£xually assaulting her, prosecutors
said.
Knutson — who was tasked with giving the patient the
substance abuse drug Vivitrol — had tried to claim that she opted to stay quiet
about the so-called assault because she feared he would harm her or her
family.
But text messages from the patient later revealed Knutson
had initiated the relationship and that she vowed to deny everything if they
were eventually busted, according to prosecutors.
She later admitted to lying about the assault in a bid to
avoid the consequences.
“The harm caused by Ms. Knutson was deep and significant.
Not only did she violate the sacred trust between a patient and a nurse, but
she compounded that by falsely accusing the patient of s£xual assault,”
District Attorney Kevin Croninger said in a statement.
“This situation is particularly egregious given the patient
in this situation was a participant in drug court.”
Knutson was sentenced to 18 months in prison and two years
of extended supervision.
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