A Rush Township man left Schuylkill County Court a free man on Monday, as a jury decided he did not assault his sister in May 2014 in their mother’s Tamaqua home.
Gregory S. Knepper, 48, of Quakake, is not guilty of simple assault, the jury hearing his case ruled after deliberating about 15 minutes.
Judge James P. Goodman, who presided over Knepper’s one-day trial, found the defendant not guilty of harassment.
Tamaqua police had charged the defendant with hitting Kelly J. Knepper with a backscratcher and pushing her to the floor on May 30, 2014.
“Greg was poking a bamboo backscratcher into my back,” Kelly Knepper testified. “I’m just asking him to stop. He’s just smiling and smirking.”
She said the incident quickly grew more serious.
“He came up and hit the right side of my mouth,” Kelly Knepper said. “He pushed me down ... and tangled my leg up. He’s pressing the backscratcher up against my neck and saying, ‘Die, die.’ ”
Kelly Knepper said she suffered numerous bruises all over her body and had to go to St. Luke’s Hospital-Miners Campus, Coaldale, for treatment.
However, Greg Knepper testified he scuffled with his sister only after she attacked him.
“She continuously tried to gouge my face,” he said.
Greg Knepper said he told his sister several times to stop, but she ripped his shirt before he got her away from him.
He said he did not call the police because he did not want to get his sister in trouble. He said his sister is smaller than he is, but has a bad temper.
“I didn’t use that much force,” Greg Knepper said. “I didn’t think she was going to attack me.”
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer N. Lehman prosecuted the case, while Gary D. Marchalk, Tamaqua, successfully defended Knepper.