Judge refuses to reduce sentence for cop's gay-bashing daughter: She's still 'in need of correction'

A Philadelphia judge has turned down a request from the daughter of a police chief to reduce her sentence after being convicted of attacking a gay couple in 2014, the Advocate is reporting.

Kathryn Knott, 25, was sentenced to five to 10 months in county jail on Feb. 5, and had asked the court to set aside her jail time in lieu of public service so that she can “heal some wounds.”

However, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Roxanne Covington ruled on Monday that the sentence was appropriate, saying Knott was still “in need of correction,” and that a shorter sentence would “depreciate the seriousness of the crimes.”

Knott was convicted in December of simple assault, reckless endangerment, and conspiracy to commit simple assault in the attack on Zachary Hesse and  Andrew Haught, on the street in September of 2014. According to the two men who were attacked, they were asked by the group Knott was with if they were "dirty faggots" before being assaulted. Hesse sustained a broken cheekbone and jaw in the attack.

Two of Knott's companion agreed to plea bargains in order to avoid incarceration, while Knott chose to take her chances in court -- which backfired when she was convicted and ordered to jail.

In asking for a reduced sentence, Knott's attorney, William Brennan, stated that  she should have received a similar sentence as her companion and that she shouldn’t “be punished for exercising her constitutional right to a trial.”

According to Brennan, Knott should have been released early so that she could do community service work and "turn it into a positive" by "healing some wounds."

Judge Covington disagreed, saying Knott  had a “complete disconnection with the incident itself and a failure to take personal responsibility herself for the crimes she was convicted of.”

After serving her sentence, Knott will be on probation for two years and must attend anger management courses.