Jury deliberating Scannell sexual misconduct case

The case of Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell who is accused of sexual misconduct with a teenage girl has gone to the jury.

WTIP’s Martha Marnocha reports the jury deliberated for over three hours before going home about 8 p.m. last night. The jury is not sequestered and will likely reconvene at 8:30 this morning.

Scannell is charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for an alleged inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old girl. 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.

Prosecuting attorney Tom Heffelfinger argued Scannell abused a position of authority when he kissed and allegedly touched the girl during drives they took in 2012. He questioned Scannell for nearly four hours.

The Duluth News Tribune reports in closing, Heffelfinger told jurors that either Scannell or the girl lied on the witness stand. He asked them to consider the credibility of each and consider who would benefit from lying. He concluded it would be Scannell.

Defense attorney Joe Tamburino said Scannell was never directly given — or charged with — any parental responsibilities over the girl, making the acts distasteful and immoral but not illegal.

He argued that state statute defines an authority figure as a person “charged with any rights, duties and responsibilities of a parent.” He said Scannell was not “charged” with the care of the girl at the time of the acts, and any positions of authority he may have held ended before the acts.