"ANOTHER CRIME BY A SCHOOL OFFICIAL"
Poughkeepsie Journal
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
By Larry Fisher-Hertz
Poughkeepsie Journal
HYDE PARK -- Former Hyde Park school administrator Clinton Knoll,
accused of stabbing himself in a bathroom at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School
and then lying about it to police, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to three charges
stemming from the incident.
A Dutchess County grand jury has accused Knoll, 34, of giving false statements to police Nov. 3, 2003, after he was found with a knife wound in his abdomen in a boys’ bathroom.
The incident prompted authorities to lock down the school for several hours.
Police contended Knoll tried to mislead them into believing a student at the school stabbed him. Following a two-week investigation by Hyde Park police, Dutchess County sheriffs deputies and the state police, authorities concluded Knoll inflicted the wound himself.
Misdemeanor charges
Knoll and his attorney, Paul Trachte, faced Town Justice David Steinberg in a brief proceeding Tuesday morning. Trachte entered not guilty pleas to three misdemeanor charges contained in an indictment handed up by the grand jury.
Knoll is charged with two counts of falsely reporting an incident and one of making a false written statement. All three charges are punishable by up to a year in jail.
Trachte told the judge he planned to file pretrial motions challenging some of the allegations contained in the indictment. Steinberg told Trachte to file the papers in a timely manner so the district attorney’s office could reply to them before Knoll’s next scheduled court appearance April 25.
Once Steinberg rules on Trachte’s motions, the case will either be scheduled for trial or the two sides will discuss a possible resolution of the case.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Edward Whitesell. Knoll resigned from his job in the school district following his arrest Nov. 17.
According to court papers filed by prosecutors last month, Knoll had been having difficulty with several students in the weeks leading up to the incident.
Three days before the stabbing, he had been advised by high school Principal Julie Linton to look for a new job, according to the documents.
Knoll reportedly conceded during an interview with Hyde Park Police Chief James McKenna that the switchblade knife found in the bathroom belonged to him. He allegedly told the chief the knife had been stolen from his office.
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