A plea agreement could allow the former Valley Regional Hospital doctor charged with four felonies for alleged sexual misconduct with a patient, reports the Union Leader.
On Monday, 52-year-old Eric Lee Knight pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault at Newport’s Sullivan County Superior Court. Knight had been charged with four counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, with each carrying sentences of 10 to 20 years in prison.
His plea agreement comes with a capped plea, where the state will argue for a sentence of up to seven years, while Knight’s attorney will argue for less. Under the agreement, prison time will only be for one count of second-degree assault, with the second carrying a suspended sentence. Plea documents state that he will not be charged with a sex crime and he will not have to register as a sex offender. Knight will also reportedly seek reinstatement of his medical license.
A state investigation into Knight began in May 2017 after he reported to the board that he had sexual relations with a female patient. He was then terminated by Valley Regional Hospital. In June 2017, he disclosed to the board that he had sex with two patients.
He was arrested in 2018, months after his medical license was suspended by the NH Board of Medicine. The board’s emergency order against Knight states that a victim told investigators that he had raped her in his office in Claremont.
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