Posted on 03/09/2011 10:48:36 AM PST by rawhide
A Decatur man accused of punching a 14-year-old girl in the face for running into his son on the slopes in Colorado has pleaded guilty to third-degree assault.
The Vail Daily reported Tuesday that the plea from 41-year-old Scott Filler, a renowned malaria expert, was for a misdemeanor stemming from the December incident at Beaver Creek Ski Resort.
Police reports say Filler thought the teen was skiing carelessly when she bumped into his 4-year-old son. Eagle County sheriff's deputies say that's when he jumped on the girl and hit her with his fist. The girl said she was swerving to avoid another skier.
District Attorney Mark Hurlbert says Filler was sentenced to anger management classes and restitution, the amount of which would be determined by the girl.
Prosecutors also sought community service, but Hurlbert says the judge fined Filler $500 instead.
Three witnesses told deputies they observed Filler punch girl between two and four times.
The ski instructor who pulled the Decatur man off the girl told deputies Filler punched her "at least four times, using a closed fist," sheriff's Lt. Mike McWilliam told the AJC. Two other witnesses said they observed Filler yell at the girl before landing two or three punches, the sheriff's office spokesman said.
Filler, charged with misdemeanor child abuse, told deputies he thought the girl was skiing carelessly and had seriously injured his son. The boy was not hurt, however, and Filler apologized. The girl was treated for minor injuries at a local medical center.
Her father requested charges be filed against Filler, who was banned for life from Vail's six ski resorts.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
I completely intended to open a door to understanding what set him off. A good hunter needs to understand his prey.
Some seek to understand the world and not just react hysterically to it. Doing so increases your likelyhood of living longer.
I am not concerned with justifications, only root cause and effect.
Your emotions are getting the best of you here, claiming I implied that it is ok for an adult man to hit a 14 year old.
Trying to understand the reason for what he did is exactly the reasonable thing to do, by definition.
Punishment is someones elses purview.
She's a teenager.
And the father wasn't?
Yes he was. And he was punishment appropriately.
She was in an accident.
Anyone who runs into a toddler on a beginner run is skiing too fast. She's not innocent in this, though I agree it was wrong for him to punch her.
He did this deliberately.
I agree, it was wrong, and he was punished. I'm not sure what we're arguing about.
you got nuthin..
I am not concerned with justifications, only root cause and effect.
Your emotions are getting the best of you here, claiming I implied that it is ok for an adult man to hit a 14 year old.
Trying to understand the reason for what he did is exactly the reasonable thing to do, by definition.
Oh, quit trying to paint yourself as the hero here. Everyone can read you posts in this thread and the only person you're fooling is yourself. Nobody else is buying your patting yourself on the back and trying to weasel out of it.
Oh yes. We must understand him.
Count me out. I don’t care why he repeatedly punched a little girl in the face. Just throw him in jail and be done with it.
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That's some pretty impressive whining for someone who doesn't appear to be concerned about an adult male punching a 14 year old girl in the face multiple times with a closed fist.
“She did hit his kid. She does not need massive reconstructive surgery. So I guess everyone involved is glad that you were not.”
HUH?? From the story:Police reports say Filler thought the teen was skiing carelessly when she bumped into his 4-year-old son. Eagle County sheriff’s deputies say that’s when he “jumped on the girl and hit her with his fist”. The girl said she was swerving to avoid another skier.”
He needed a severe beating for that crap.
Moving the goal posts are we? It wasn't a 27 year old guy, it was a 14 year old girl.........
And just to add some perspective here my friend, I too started skiing at the age of 4, was once a certified PSIA instructor and have seen literally hundreds if not more on slope collisions on both the beginner hills as well as the more advanced runs with occasional serious injuries being the result......I've also personally been involved in such collisions but never injured. That shit happens and it's unfortunate. But never have I ever witnessed any of those collisions resulting in blows being exchanged..Especially by a grown adult on a 14 year old girl......
Says you.
First they ban DDT, then a renowned malaria expert. What are we to do? Millions are dying of malaria, while the rich get richer!
My sympathies to you.
c: She's a teenager.
So by default that makes her a punk?
Or are you just ASSuming that she was because she was 14?
If she was skiing too fast when she bumped into him, why wasn’t he injured? Why wasn’t she injured? How fast was she going when she bumped into him?
I didnt say we. I never “counted you in”. You choose not to understand. That is fine. Feather your nest with hysterical ignorance if you so choose.
It was a beginner run, a bunny slope in other words. That information is in the articles linked above. There's no excuse for running into a toddler on the bunny slope. She didn't deserve to be punched, but she did, at the very least, deserve a warning from the ski patrol, and depending on the circumstances, have her lift ticket yanked.
But even if the things you made up were true, he would still deserve jail time for violently assaulting a person.
It's very rare for someone with no criminal record to go to jail for a provoked minor assualt resulting in no major injuries.
The guy was fined, banned for life from six major ski resorts, and forced to pay restitution. In addition, he now has a criminal record that labels him as a child abuser.
That seems fair to me.
Good for you.
Your self rightious condecension marks you though.
You still got nuthin, refering to the post that you were refering to earlier.
How is it I'm not concerned? I've stated repeatedly he deserved to be punished for what he did.
What exactly is your problem?
I’ve done enough skiing and falling in my day and if there were no injuries, she wasn’t going that fast and they didn’t collide that hard.
Often when you swerve suddenly to avoid an obstacle on the slope, you go down, especially if you’re learning. Matter of fact, it’s easier and safer to just go down than to try to go around and still maintain some modicum of control.
Skiing is not a safe sport and if you’re going to take your four year old out on the slopes, you’re going to have to expect that at some point, he may get hurt. Adults do. Children are not exempt.
That the whole world is not going to rearrange itself for his little darling.
I read that is was a beginner run, which is different from a bunny slope. Where are you getting the story that it was a bunny slope? Where are you getting the story that she was going fast? Where are you getting the story that she did something she should be punished for? Everything I’ve read describes and accident, followed by an unprovoked beat-down. Do you think all children should be punished for getting beaten, or is it only the girls?
The very fact that she couldn't avoid him means she was skiing to fast. If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with the skier's responsibility code.
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