DULUTH -- A jury on Friday found Cook County attorney Tim Scannell guilty of two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Scannell, 48, has admitted that he had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl in the summer of 2012. He was accused of kissing and touching her sexually while the two were parked in his family van on a rural Cook County road.
During the trial, the girl testified that she had known Scannell since she was about 9. She said their physical relationship began with kissing when she was 17. During August 2012, it progressed to touching of her breasts and buttocks, she testified. The girl said she refused several of his advances to engage in sexual intercourse.
Scannell admitted they kissed fewer than 10 times but rebutted much of her testimony. He said he never touched her sexually, only inadvertently touching her breast once, and denied that he ever suggested they engage in sexual intercourse.
Because the age of consent in Minnesota is typically 16, the jury was asked to decide whether Scannell was in a “position of authority” over the girl at the time of the acts.
