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 ...
Look. The “punk” victim didn’t want the guy to go to jail.
While that may be true where you ski, most ski resorts make a distinction between the two:
“The instructor was wonderful. She had me start on a bunny slope instead of a beginner run, and kindly took me step-by-step through what I needed to do. It was a completely different experience.Article on skiing instruction
It’s probably more likely that the girl is from a wealthy family that was simply vacationing at a resort. Vail is a very expensive area, and between hotels, lift tickets, meals and lessons, it’s going to costs thousands of dollars to stay there.
Actually, that's not true. Before going on a lift-serviced green slope, a skier is expected, at a minimum, to know how to snowplow, turn, stop and control his speed. All ski resorts I've been to have a non-lift-serviced "beginner zone", where first-timers can learn these skills. These areas generally consist of a short, extremely gentle slope, no more than 20 feet long, wherein novices side-step up to the top, and then, one at a time, snowplow down, learning how to turn and stop in the process. Sometimes these "beginner zones" have a "magic carpet," which resembles a converyor belt, that they can ride the 20 feet to the top. However, I would say that it's probably better to make them side-step, as that's a useful skill to learn.
So tell me, where will one be able to acquire those skills?
In the beginner zone, not on a lift-serviced green run.
I've been skiing since I was 6, and I've skied all over California, Utah, Washington, and British Columbia. Never made it to Colorado. I ski at least 10 days a year.
There is a big difference between the two.
Not where I come from.
Okay, then let me ask you Trisham. If it was your daughter, would you urge a financial payout rather than the perp getting serious jail time?
I don’t dispute your logic, but something doesn’t ring true here. Could this girl be the guest of a wealthy employer of her parent?
Some of this is obviously conjecture on my part, but this doesn’t make sense to me. What dad is going to agree to a cash payout rather than justice? And what payout would there be, since the girl by all accounts wasn’t seriously injured? (Which I take exception to BTW. No breaks may have been detected, but I’ll bet this girl’s face was a mess. A 41 year old adult male doesn’t strike a girl in the face with his fists two to four time, in a rage, without causing some serious bruising and discomfort.)
Either this guy is the pansy of the century, or he did cause significant bruising of this young girl.
I always love the reports that no serious injuries were inflicted in incidents like this. I instantly wonder how the injured would describe their injuries.
Just out of curiosity, what is your own personal experience in ski-instruction? Where have you taught?
The relevance is that a 4-year-old should never have been on a beginner run in the first place.
None, other than having taken ski school as a kid. They never let us on an actual lift until we had mastered the snowplow, easily turning and stopping, in the beginner zone. Same with other members of my family.
Futhermore, there's no beginner exception in the Skier's responsibility code:
"Always stay in control, and be able to stop or avoid other people or objects.
"People ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them."
From here:
http://www.nsaa.org/nsaa/safety/heads_up/know_the_code.asp
Nonsense. So long as the kid knows how to snowplow, stop and turn, it's perfectly appropriate.
I will say this, that if this girl does come from a wealthy family, privacy might be an issue, and I would like to know more of the facts surrounding this case. As we've seen from this thread, not all men, including fathers, are mature adults.
I would also say that regardless of her status, this girl is a victim of a violent assault. To me, that is what is the issue.
Then tell me, what does the beginners ski-school class in Beaver Creek consist of? After all, it is a BEGINNER'S SKI-SCHOOL CLASS" and that is the class where the girl skied into the little kid.........
How difficult is that for you to understand?
Did you not read the link at post #248?
As far as your post #258 I'm NOT defending the guy who hit the girl. I'm not condoning his act of hitting the girl.
Your entire argument on this thread has been based on your belief that the little girl was the instigator of the violence perpetrated on her by the father whether you like it or not.......Your continuous argument that the girl was at fault has never once been tempered by your condemnation of the adult that beat on her but rather your lame attempt to somehow give him the reason to do so.
What you have successfully done is hijack this thread away from the main topic which was the violence perpetrated by a 41 year old adult on a 14 year old girl............Congratulations ThreadJacker.............
He is not going to jail.
Actually not very likely. Illegal alien Mexicans don't much go for skiing and Vail's not cheap. On the other hand, Vail has been drawing skiiers from Mexico City's middle and upper classes for decades now.
Rideharddiefast, did you say that Scott Filler is going to jail?
SeeSac, feel free to answer that question for me, since you’re obsessed with hinting that he/she did. If you do decide to solidify that accusation, please provide a link.
You must not stop where you obstruct a trail, or are not visible from above.
Does that mean the four year old boy caused the accident, or do the rules only apply to fourteen year old girls?
Thank you Trisham. Glad you didn’t take that note of mine to be caustic. The assault was the main focus of my interests too.
Take care.
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