Maine 'hermit' sentenced to re-enter society with counseling

By Dave Sherwood

AUGUSTA, Maine (Reuters) - A Maine man who claims to have spent 27 years living in the woods as a hermit pleaded guilty on Monday to burglary and theft in a deal in which he will receive mental health counseling to re-enter society.

Judge Nancy Mills, of Maine Superior Court, ordered Christopher Knight, 47, to check in weekly with the court to confirm that he is either working full time, attend schooling or volunteering, and undergoing mental health counseling for a year to ensure a "successful" return to the community.

"This is someone who has had no involvement with anybody for 27 years," Knight's lawyer, Walter McKee, said. "It's a very unique case, a very unique sentence for a very unique person."

Knight said he walked into the woods in 1986 shortly after he heard about the Chernobyl nuclear accident and claims to have had little human contact since.

He pleaded guilty on Monday to 13 counts of burglary and theft, and was returned to jail to await his release when terms of the agreement are finalized.

Knight was arrested in April after police said they caught him stealing food and supplies he needed to survive from a summer camp for the disabled along North Pond about 20 miles west of Maine's capital of Augusta.

Gaunt and pale with a full beard, Knight listened quietly as Mills asked if he understood he would be required to tell his court-appointed case manager "the truth" in order to receive the best rehabilitation treatment possible.

"Who will decide what is the truth?" Knight replied.

McKee said Knight poses no threat to society, but it was still unclear where he would reside upon release.

"That's been the big issue since day one, where is he going to go?," said McKee, who said no one knew how Knight might respond to the everyday pressures of society.

District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said the agreement hinged on the nature of Knight's crimes.

"He was stealing peanut butter. He was not stealing jewelry. And he did not at any point attack a human being. Those were top considerations," she said.

Knight initially pleaded not guilty when indicted in August, but changed his plea on Monday after lawyers and the judge agreed to the alternative sentence and rehabilitation.

Knight's case has been romanticized by many, but police say that he committed as many as 1,000 burglaries in order to survive.

Knight's camp, well-appointed with a tent, sleeping bags and cook stove, was just a few hundred yards from the nearest house. It was hidden among boulders and crevices on a hillside of evergreens, leaving neighbors uneasy for decades.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Leslie Adler)

Society & CultureCrime & JusticeMaine Superior Courtmental health counseling

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Maine 'hermit' pleads not guilty to stealing to support himself

By Dave Sherwood

AUGUSTA, Maine (Reuters) - A Maine man who lived in the woods with nearly no human contact for 27 years, supporting himself by stealing food and supplies, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to seven counts of burglary and six of theft.

Christopher Knight, 47, was clean-shaven with closely cropped hair and looked well fed at the time of his arrest in April. He has grown a full beard in his four months in prison and now looks gaunt.

Since his capture, he has been the subject of a documentary, countless media stories, received marriage proposals and a "no-strings-attached" offer by a stranger to pay his bail.

Wearing baggy green prison clothes as he sat in a courthouse just 20 miles east of his long-time woodland hideout, Knight appeared unfazed by the bustle of reporters and television cameras.

He answered "not guilty" to each of the counts but otherwise did not address the court.

Justice Michaela Murphy set Knight's trial for October 8. Prosecution and defense attorneys said they were confident they would be able to reach a plea deal that would avoid trial.

"We're trying to come to an agreement that includes both the punishment angle and rehabilitation," said Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney, adding that Knight was found competent to stand trial.

Police contend Knight committed as many as 1,000 burglaries in order to survive. The list of stolen items runs the gamut from flashlights, electrical tape and propane to video games and marshmallows.

Authorities initially said Knight confessed to many of the burglaries. His attorney Walter McKee said Knight pleaded "not guilty" because of technicalities involved with the confession.

He noted Knight said he had "always 100 percent completely accepted responsibility for what he did," and called the situation "awkward."

Knight has offered little explanation for why he walked away from his home in 1986 and began a life with almost no human contact. He was arrested in April after police said they caught him stealing food and supplies from a summer camp for the disabled.

At the time he was arrested, authorities said everything but his eyeglasses, the same pair he wore in a photo taken of him shortly before he disappeared, was stolen.

Knight's camp, well-appointed with a tent, sleeping bags and cookstove, was hidden amongst boulders and crevices on a hillside of evergreens just a few hundred yards from the nearest house.

The judge confirmed bail at $25,000, but prohibited third parties from offering it, making it unlikely Knight, who has no possessions, would post it.

"There are those who don't think he should be prosecuted at all. Others think he should be in prison for the rest of his life," said Maloney. "But no one wants him to return to the life he was living before unless he can do so legally."

(Editing by Scott Malone and Andrew Hay)

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Fund set up to repay Maine hermit victims

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The attorney for a Maine man who lived in the woods as a hermit for 27 years has established a fund to repay people who think they were victims of burglaries at their cottages by the recluse.

Christopher Knight, known as the North Pond Hermit, may have committed as many as 1,000 burglaries over the years for food, clothing, camping and cooking gear and other supplies that allowed him to live at a camp in the woods of the rural town of Rome, police have said.

Knight, who is 47, was arrested earlier this month while allegedly breaking into a camp for people with special needs to steal food. He is being held on $25,000 bail.

Knight's lawyer, Walter McKee, told the Kennebec Journal the account will pay for "what will be the substantial restitution he will owe for what he took."

"Chris very much wants to make things right," McKee told the Augusta newspaper via email. People who want to contribute to the fund can send donations to McKee at his Augusta law firm.

Lillie Cogswell of Wimberley, Texas, whose camp on Little North Pond was burglarized, said that her family "the monetary issue is not an overriding issue" and that there should be consequences for Knight's behavior.

"The bigger part was all of us feeling uncomfortable and not feeling safe and feeling like someone was watching us in our homes," said Cogswell.

District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said following Knight's initial court appearance Tuesday that she expects he will be charged in connection with 15 to 20 burglaries that were reported to police in recent years. Knight's next hearing was scheduled for June 11. So far, he has entered no plea on several burglary and theft charges.

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Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/

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Affidavit: hermit Maine carried Bacon, syrup, $ 395

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A State police affidavit says a Maine man who lived as a hermit in the woods for nearly three decades was carrying $ 395, marshmallows and bacon in cash when he was arrested on suspicion of burglary.

An affidavit obtained by the Kennebec Journal (http://bit.ly/13oW4cH) that lists the articles 47-year-old Christopher Knight has possessed when he was arrested on charges of stealing of food this month from a camp for children with special needs.

The articles also include wrenches, pliers, electrical tape, a clock, a baseball hat, coffee, burgers burgers, chicken nuggets, cheese, corn syrup and chips.

Since his arrest, Knight drew a marriage proposal and telephoned a stranger's offer to bail him out. Knight refused the offer of bail and remains in jail.

Police say that may have been responsible for a total of 1,000 burglaries.

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Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/

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