Sex offender wants latest charges dropped

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- A convicted sex offender accused of abusing a vulnerable adult at a mental-health facility in southern Idaho is trying to get charges against him dropped, saying his relationship with a 21-year-old patient amounted to constitutionally protected behavior.

David Aaron Knutsen, 29, of Filer, was indicted March 25 for four counts of sexual abuse following the Jan. 30 incident at St. Luke's Canyon View Behavioral Services in Twin Falls.

He was also a patient there..

But Twin Falls County Deputy Prosecutor Suzanne Craig says the victim's mental and physical impairments were such that Knutsen "should have known that sexual conduct with her would be illegal."

There's a hearing in the matter on Thursday.

St. Luke's installed new monitoring equipment after the incident, the Times-News reported.

Knutsen has pleaded not guilty and has a trial set for January.

Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)