UFO NEWS | Conman, Bill Knell Avoids Jail Time on Charges of Child Neglect

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Knell avoids jail time on charges of child neglect

By Rod Rose
Assistant Managing Editor
reporter.net
8-18-11

     Boone County — William Knell, 55, was ordered to spend the next three months on electronic monitoring and the next two years on probation by Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Edens Wednesday.

Knell, who was arrested May 9 on 10 counts of child neglect, accepted a plea agreement offered by the Boone County Prosecutor, under which he may not leave Indiana, must live for three months at 124 1/2 S. Lebanon St., and refrain from conducting any business on the Internet during his probation.

Edens suspended three 1-1/2-year jail terms on three class D felony child neglect counts, but ordered Knell to serve 90 days of active monitoring by Boone County Community Corrections. Knell will be then be on probation for two years.

Police and investigators from the Department of Child Services found the Knell home, 1610 Ashley Drive, Lebanon, crammed with rotting food, and toilets “filled with feces” during a June 3 inspection, according to court documents.

Knell must find a job or enroll in classes that lead to employment, and complete a parenting program.

Several people contacted The Lebanon Reporter after a March 31 story about the Knells, complaining they had been victimized by the couple in various Internet scams.

A Google search for the couple returned 281,000 hits, many for consumer complaint sites accusing the Knells of fraud.

Knell’s wife, Catherine, 47, is serving probation after accepting a child neglect plea agreement on Feb. 4.

The Knells’ landlord, Ron Boone, had asked Superior Court II Judge Rebecca McClure to evict the couple; while McClure had granted the request, on June 1 Boone told the court the Knells had begun to make rent payments, and asked the eviction be placed on hold. McClure granted what is essentially an “indefinite continuance” in the eviction.

In a Superior Court I case, Elliot Barnett, owner of the Ashley Drive home, was awarded a $5,674 damage claim against the Knells on Sept. 28, 2009. Court records show no further action on that case since the judgment was filed.

* Special Thanks To Rod Rose

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See Also:

UFO NEWS | Criminal Actions of Bill Knell (AGAIN)

UFO NEWS | Conman, Bill Knell Facing 10 Charges of Child Neglect

UFO NEWS | Long Time Criminal & Conman, Bill Knell To Cut Deal On Felony Charges with Boone County Prosecutor

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UFO NEWS | Long Time Criminal & Conman, Bill Knell To Cut Deal On Felony Charges with Boone County Prosecutor

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Knell Plea Hearing Delayed

By Rod Rose
Assistant Managing Editor
The Lebanon (IN) Reporter

     A man who left his children in “deplorable” conditions will admit to two of 10 “neglect of a dependent” charges, according to court documents.

William Knell, 55, 100 block of S. Lebanon Street, will acknowledge he placed his children in danger twice, between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1, 2010, and again between Sept.2 and Sept. 10, 2009, under the deal offered by the Boone County Prosecutor.

Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Edens was to have held a hearing on the offer Thursday, but that hearing has been rescheduled for 3 p.m. July 26.

Pamela Buchanan, Knell’s defense attorney, asked for the delay so additional screening could be completed by the Boone County Community Corrections Program, according to court records.

No details of the plea were listed. Each of the 10 neglect charges are class D felonies, which carry sentences of six months to three years and fines up to $10,000.

On Feb. 4, Knell’s wife, Catherine, 47, pleaded guilty to three counts of child neglect following an investigation of the Knell home, 1610 Ashley Drive, by the Indiana Department of Child Services and Lebanon Police. Catherine Knell’s 1 1/2 year sentences were suspended; she was placed on two years probation.

Investigators found rotted food in a refrigerator and in bathrooms and bedrooms. The house was overrun by cockroaches and the toilets were “filled with feces,” DCS investigator Jenny Essex said in a court document. Similar conditions were found in May 2008 and September 2009 when DCS investigators returned to the home.

Several civil judgments against the Knells, for credit card fraud and other complaints, have been awarded by Arizona courts.

* Special Thanks To Rod Rose

. . . More

See Also:

UFO NEWS | Criminal Actions of Bill Knell (AGAIN)

UFO NEWS | Conman, Bill Knell Facing 10 Charges of Child Neglect

Piracy: A Silent Plague on Ufology

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