A Wisconsin nurse who repeatedly had sex with a participant in a Monroe County drug court program while administering his medication was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison after she later falsely accused him of sexually assaulting her to cover her tracks, authorities said.
Melissa R. Knutson, 30, pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to misconduct in public office and obstructing an officer. Juneau County Judge Paul Curran sentenced her to 18 months of initial confinement in state prison followed by two years of extended supervision on the misconduct charge. She received a concurrent 180-day jail sentence on the obstruction count and was taken into custody immediately after the hearing.
The case dates to 2022, when Knutson worked as a nurse for the Monroe County Drug Court. Her responsibilities included giving the male participant Vivitrol injections to treat his substance abuse issues as part of the court-supervised program, an alternative to incarceration aimed at helping people recover and rebuild their lives.
Text messages obtained by investigators showed Knutson initiated the sexual encounters and explicitly told the man she would deny everything if their relationship was discovered, according to court records and prosecutors.
When the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services was alerted to the relationship, Knutson responded by sending a letter falsely accusing the patient of sexually assaulting her. She claimed she had stayed silent out of fear that he would harm her or her family.
Knutson later admitted in both a written statement and during her guilty plea that no assault occurred and that she fabricated the allegation solely to avoid professional consequences for having sex with the patient.
Monroe County District Attorney Kevin D. Croninger described the betrayal as particularly damaging.
“The harm caused by Ms. Knutson was deep and significant,” Croninger said in a statement. “Not only did she violate the sacred trust between a patient and a nurse, but she compounded that by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault. This situation is particularly egregious given the patient in this situation was a participant in drug court.”
During sentencing, Judge Curran called Knutson’s actions “despicable” and said she was “an embarrassment to nurses everywhere.”
The patient’s identity has not been released. Drug court participants are often in vulnerable positions, balancing recovery with strict court oversight, and authorities emphasized that the case undermines public confidence in treatment programs designed to support rehabilitation.
Knutson had initially faced more serious charges, including multiple counts of second-degree sexual assault, but those were resolved through the guilty plea to the misconduct and obstruction counts.
The convictions were announced Monday by the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office. Knutson remains in custody pending transfer to state prison.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about professional boundaries in correctional and treatment settings where power imbalances between caregivers and clients can lead to exploitation.
Flip the pages for photos of Nurse Melissa R. Knutson.
