Decatur man charged for altercation at Colorado ski resort

Written By: Robert Naddra
12/30/10
Categorized in: DeKalb News

A 41-year-old Decatur man on vacation in Colorado faces misdemeanor child abuse charges after allegedly punching a 14-year-old girl in the face on Dec. 17.

Scott Filler, who is a doctor with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta according to reports, could face up to two years in county jail, said district attorney Mark Hulbert.

According to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, a 14-year old girl from Mexico was skiing with a ski school class on a beginner slope at the Beaver Creek Ski Resort. The girl swerved to avoid a fallen skier and bumped into Filler’s 4-year-old son and both fell to the ground.

Filler thought the girl was skiing recklessly, according to police, and jumped on top of the 14-year-old and punched her in the face with his fist. The ski instructor told Filler he was punching a girl and got him to stop, said Lt. Mike McWilliam of the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office.

The father then realized that his son was not injured and apologized for his inappropriate behavior, police said.

The girl was taken to a nearby medical clinic and was treated for minor injuries and released. The girl’s father decided to press charges.

“It does happen, but it’s very, very rare,” Hulbert said of altercations on the ski slopes. “There is no mandatory jail time. It all really depends on each case and the injuries sustained.”

No court date has been set, Hulbert said, but typically a case is heard 30 to 60 days after the incident. A plea bargain also is a possibility, Hulbert said.

Comments (10)

#11

TheSnoopyDog

Said this on 1/4/11 At 08:24 pm

First : Drug Test the Doctors butt ! Lot of Docs on KANE !

Seccond : Lock the Dr up ! No excuse for hitting a 14 year old child on the Bunny Slopes !

#10

marilyn jackson-blair

Said this on 1/3/11 At 03:16 am

In reply to #9

@Alfredo, Dawn&Amanda The lack of response to bigotry will eventually force the perpetrators to find another hobby or force them back into the woods for more idiotic strategies.They are attention seekers with obviously no purpose .@ Snoopy Dog I feel you !!!!!!Much Love.

Alfredo

Said this on 1/2/11 At 01:34 pm

In reply to #3

Scott:
Shame on you! If you think that all the Mexicans are illegals, you are a a dumb bigot. Believe me, if you see a Mexican skiing in your Colorado slopes, he might be able to pay your salary with the cash they have in their pocket. Thus, you should inform your self a little bit more. Although I am not an American Citizen, I might say that America has great people and Is a great place to live. I love this country, however, like in other part of the world, here are people like you who are xenophobic and rude to others. Be careful with the stereotypes. They might deceive you and make you to take your words back.

marilyn jackson-blair

Said this on 1/2/11 At 10:32 am

Well said Amanda, However I believe this individual should be addressed as Scott Filler & not Dr. Filler at this present time. His lack of control over such a common impulse not only puts this innocent 14yr. old child in an uncompromisable situation but this character's ability to exhibit such a violent response to an incident which appears to be an accident should raise concern as to whether is own child is in harmful and unsafe situation in his presence.This was clearly a criminal an he should be prosecuted accordingly as well as court ordered to take an anger management & childcare course and not a 1 day class what better person to use as an example it's about our kids they must be protected.
Let's come together and take a stand our kids they need us.

Dawn Williams

Said this on 1/1/11 At 02:51 am

The article implies the girl was from Mexico and probably on vacation. If she an illegal immigrant the article would have said as much. At least, they do that here in GA. That being said, the father was WAY out of control. Even if it were on purpose....who does that? How big could the girl have been compared to the father? No doubt the only reason she wasn't hurt more was because she was bundled up against the elements.

TheSnoopyDog

Said this on 12/31/10 At 10:28 pm

Feel the Love on the Slopes !

Feel the Love on Comments !

amanda rowley

Said this on 12/31/10 At 06:40 pm

In reply to #3

Uh... Scott... losing control on the bunny slope is not an exclusively immigrant, illegal or otherwise, behavior. Perhaps you were looking for an opportunity to be ugly to people from Mexico? I hope the rest of your state's residents are not such daft racists. It would be a shame to imagine all of that beauty going to waste on a bunch of low IQ biggots. Oh and the CDC is in Atlanta, which is in Georgia - not NC. Do they only teach geography to the smart people in Colorado?

Nestor

Said this on 12/31/10 At 12:43 pm

Lesson learned - go to the lesser publicized and out of the way ski places. These are usually great slopes, in good shape from lesser use, and populated by locals with experience - not hot headed tourists. Hilltop Ski in Anchorage, Alaska is one that comes to mind.

Sort of the same thing when I lived in Miami and used to scuba dive alot. I used the mom-and-pop operations and not the cattle boats with dropped equipment, people picking up my stuff by accident, bumping into me in the open ocean, etc.

Scott

Said this on 12/31/10 At 09:46 am

Simple. Being from Colorado and a skier myself it all falls to this.
Another illeagle on the slopes, and dumb southerner. Go to N.C. and stay on your side of the country Doc, and go back to Mexico and sell blankets.

amanda rowley

Said this on 12/30/10 At 10:06 pm

What Dr. Filler did was fail to control a common impulse; to protect his child. Thing is, people bump into each other while skiing ALL of the time. The beginner slopes are often the worst because of so many new skiers. If he was willing to put his son on that mountain, he should have been willing to accept the risk. Imagine how this psychotically over-protective father would react if, 10 years from now, his son were to accidentally bump into a small child only to be attacked by the child's parent. Just because he is well educated and his crime occurred in a unlikely place does not mean he should receive leniency. If it were my 14-year-old, I would want Filler to serve time. Just like Filler would if his precious son were the teenager in this case.

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