Yikes…things are getting interesting
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I’m completely shocked that morris and his attorneys are trying to publicly unmask one of the victims 
oh and also that USEF is too busy complaining about the new whisker trimming rule to respond to its complainants.
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Where are they complaining about the rule? I haven’t seen that. Oh, probably on facebook where I don’t go.
I wish the Chronicle wouldn’t use Morris’ picture. It’s creepy.
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I’m not shocked at all. Part of the Athletes for Pedos group’s main issue was not knowing the names of the victims and the details of the cases that go through SS. If the victim can’t have anonymity, it makes the odds of them coming forward much less. Of course their God’s attorneys don’t believe in John Does.
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It was reported in horse and hound 
Thanks. They could have a point about the blinkers, but the nations that already outlaw removal of whiskers and hairs around the eye seem to have no issues.
So , USEF’s issues are that enforcement would be “subjective” and that it is not clear if trimming would be allowed as long as the hairs were not “removed”.
They could just ask the FEI to clarify.
Sorry for the derail.
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This x 100…I shuddered at that pic of his ugly mug.
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I found it shocking that the defense in the Flintridge case is arguing in part that the young lady should have told her parents about the abuse or gone to the police. Really? 
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Victim shaming and gaslighting at its finest. We still have along way to go supporting victims rights it seems.
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They did say in the article that that sort of defense was often used in the past and that it is uncommon to see these days. Hopefully the judge will be as appalled by their use of it as we are.
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It is a super creepy image and especially given that it’s the Jimmy Williams silver hat made by Tiffany. So fitting. It seems to me, in fact, extremely appropriate, if not also super sad.
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As I read it, that defense is being used by the riding stable. Depending on the relationship between the stable and Williams, that defense may be appropriate. If the plaintiff is saying, “the stable should have intervened and stopped this abuse,” it will certainly be a live issue at trial whether the stable was aware (or had reason to be aware) of the abuse. You can’t stop something you don’t know about.
Off the top of my head, this issue could play out differently depending on whether Williams was an employee of the riding stable or a contractor. It is likely an employer would be strictly liable for an employee’s bad acts even if the employer was unaware of them. It is much less likely the employer would be liable for the acts of a contractor. I see that near the bottom of the article, Flintridge says Williams was not an employee.
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I think the plaintiff is saying that the stable was aware of his behavior and did nothing.
Well, sure. And the stable is saying they didn’t know. The question will be which side proves their contention at trial (with the burden of proof on the plaintiff, of course… meaning that a “tie” goes to the defendant).
It will be interesting to see if the plaintiff can prove that there were complaints by other parents or gossip so prevalent that the riding stable could not have been unaware.
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From the comments here, it seems as if “everyone knew”. How many people will be willing to testify in court is of course a different matter. I’d be surprised if the plaintiff would go to court without witnesses though.
It’s all so sad.
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As I recall multiple first hand people did tell people at Flintridge, I believe both girls and mothers? and Jimmy Williams wasn’t just a rando contractor, he lived there with teenaged girls, include Suzy Hutchinson
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JW was at Flintridge for about 37-years straight. Nobody can argue he was “just a guy, hanging around and getting paid” as a Hello-And-Goodbye contractor.
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It’s worth re-reading the NYT article that clearly states several of the victims told people. Apologies if this is behind a firewall.
Article -
[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/sports/jimmy-williams-flintridge.html]
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I am not sure whether or not Flintridge Riding Club should be liable or to what extent they have liability, but I can’t imagine anyone who was around at the time believing that FRC and Williams had an arms-length relationship. They were completely intertwined, and if anything I’d think of it as Williams directing FRC rather than FRC humbly running the facility with Williams running a business out of it. I can’t imagine the official FRC board having the power to turn him out, for example.
There is evidence that the FRC president(s) had allegations reported to them.
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I grew up not too far from FRC, watched my mom’s friends’ & kids who rode there with JW show there in the 1960’s-70’s and showed there myself in the late 70’s-80s. When it was time to shift my riding from weekends, vacation, summer, etc. to full time and move to a trainer closer to home, my mom asked her friends whose kids had ridden at Flintridge about moving there. They were very clear that I should not under any circumstances ride with JW or at FRC and recommended someone else. We moved to the trainer they suggested instead. During my high school years, I was told stories by other riders my age that the phrase “Dirty old man” written on his golf cart was no joke. It was pretty openly discussed. I also have friends with whom I am still in touch who rode there with one of the other trainers at FRC. They knew something “really gross” (their words) was going on and their parents chose to leave FRC and ride elsewhere. Two had very scary experiences while elementary school aged with JW’s barn help who grabbed them very inappropriately(and I don’t mean pinched their behinds but I’m leaving it there). The number of people who are capable of coming forward with first hand knowledge (not me, I’m second hand) of what was going on and that parents had gone to the board is significant. Whether they will or not remains to be seen. But let’s also not forget the number of people who have already gone public with their experience and done so without anonymity.
Edited to clarify that I never trained at FRC, just competed there at horse shows.
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