She, and her daughter, are brave women. I hope they are in touch with the Ebeling victim and other survivors of abuse in our industry,
What she says about shame is so real, and personal to me. I was sexually assaulted by a surfing instructor on vacation, and I couldn’t muster the courage to file an official report even after I knew he had assaulted a friend. I was too scared of being victim blamed.
I would like to think that this woman and her daughter have done more for the equestrian community than the trainer in question.
Sadly I just dont think you can mend the mind of people who were cruel to them.
That will take more than thoughtful words and open sharing. I wonder if ANYONE has come forward to atone.
Ditto @hoopoe, thank you Carrie (and Maggie) for being SO brave and all you have done and continue to do for the equestrian community. Your advocacy and efforts are going to save some young people from experiencing what so many have. By exposing the systemic abuse and challenging the status quo you are helping remove shame from the equation. We cannot thank you enough for your bravery and resilience, and I do hope to see Maggie’s dream of representing our country in equestrian sports come true one day 
I can’t say this better.
Exactly!
I wonder how long USEF will take before they put him on the Safe Sport “Banned” list. He is still listed as suspended.
"Kehring chose not to attend the sentencing, but she requested that Zusman read a victim statement on her behalf. In that statement she said that Fellers, who had coached her from ages 14 to 17, had been “larger than life to me in my childhood” with “unquestionable ethics.” His standing, both in regards to her own family, and to the larger horse world, meant that she “trusted him with many hours of her childhood,” which he manipulated in order to abuse her. When she did eventually come forward, she said, her longtime trainer “threw me to the wolves.”
“I just want to apologize to the victim, her family, my precious family and friends,” Fellers said, pausing mid-sentence to choke back tears.
“I offer no excuses,” Fellers said. “My actions caused so much pain for her.”
Just spare me the crocodile tears, you sleazy human being. Apparently some people have no sense of right and wrong until they are caught abusing young people, and then oh! the recriminations and apologies! Your “precious family and friends”. Really? How “precious” your wife and friends must have been to you while you were grooming and abusing a young lady.
There are basic rules of behavior that most people understand. Abusing a minor student is not only terribly destructive to that young person, but is a criminal act as well.
I have absolutely no sympathy for Mr. Fellers. I suppose I can somewhat understand his family standing by him, but really, when I think about it, and considering his admission of guilt, I think their support would be better kept privately, within the family.
There is a young victim here, and Mr. Fellers’ family and friends who are very publicly standing in support of a man who has pleaded guilty to abusing a trusting young student, doesn’t send a good message.
Visit him in prison, but don’t tell me what a good guy he is.
I’m sad that I was a bit shocked to see him get multiple years in actual prison. He absolutely deserves it, but I wish I wasn’t surprised.
I was a bit amused at the article writing as well - starts off about him hugging and smiling with family members, then notes the change in mood when it is evident the judge wasn’t going to give him a slap on the wrist and commend him for ‘pleading guilty’.
I was thinking the same thing.
It sounds manipulative AF. He was jovial and happy with his friends and family, cracking jokes with them, until the judge walks in. Then it’s “I’m so sorry for everything”.
Just gross.
I bet he’ll end up in one of the special sex offender federal prisons, like the one in Texas that Josh Duggar is in for child porn possession. Yes, there are so many sex offenders that they are in special sections of federal prisons.
From what I’ve read, many federal prisoners only serve 85% of their sentence, so Inmate Fellers will probably be out months short of 50 months.
I would like to think that the author of the article, in highlighting the jovial mood prior to the court start, was making one last dig at the Fellers camp to spotlight public hypocrisy of still victims blaming and showing no remorse.
I also thought it was interesting the way the judge gave him an hour and a half to say goodbye to his family as a compromise between dragging him out in handcuffs right that second and leaving him loose for another two weeks or whatever it was.
I gotta be honest this seems like white collar sentence for a truly scum of the earth crime.
Not really diggin’ that conviction and its implications for future offenders. You think that will truly deter?
The victim gets a life sentence of having this scumbag in her memory, while he only gets 50 months.
Here’s my two cents for what its worth. My husband is a parole/probation officer for the county where Portland is, he deals with sex crimes. Had this been a sentence by the state (as opposed to the feds), he said it was unlikely Fellers would have had to serve any time in prison sadly. This is a result of the federal charges, which must victims don’t get charge-wise. This Country has a huge history of not treating rape as a “real” crime. I’m glad he’s going to prison and I hope he has to serve the entire sentence, but I agree its too light.
… Fellers instead will serve time at a minimum-security federal prison in Littleton, Colorado.
It is.
Don’t worry about him. This prison is more like 50 months of sleep-away camp than it is like Orange Is The New Black.
He’s jovial because he knows he is going to a very livable situation. He’s got people on his side to look after him in prison. This is do-able, easily. He’s probably looking forward to all the cool stuff he’ll be able to progress in prison.
This is not hard time by any means. The inmates are higher-education and income with solid family support. They make an effort to get along with guards and other inmates, even if they choose to keep to themselves. They are not trying to escape and bring worse conditions/trouble on themselves. They barely need guards. Mostly just to keep them from nipping down to the 7-11 for more snacks and sodas.
Basically they pass their time as constructively as possible. Some write books as well as read them. Add to their education. Make music. Do creative things. Plan their future careers. Some are running their businesses and investments by phone.
There is a minimum security federal women’s prison in the community where I live. Elizabeth Holmes is there. From the public front, they barely have a fence around it - it’s the vertical bars black decorative iron fence some people have around their homes/yards. The actual non-decorative inmate fencing is behind that and not very visible from the public outside.
But at least Englewood looks imposing from the outside. The one in my town does not, from the front. In my community the federal prison front has a beautiful lawn with spreading oak trees, very southern. I didn’t know it was a prison for years.
Some details of life at this prison …
https://www.prisonpro.com/content/englewood-federal-correctional-institution
The problem with sentencing is that no sentence can actually make up for what happened to a victim of violent or sexual crime. Five years, ten years, 15 years, life with parole after 25. Nothing will make the event be undone. Nothing sets back the clock.
Possibly (I don’t know) another reason he was so relaxed about prison time was that he may have been well-advised by one of the paid consultants that helps felons get the best prison situation possible, for their particular case and circumstances.
Englewood is rated one of the best for sex offenders.
It’s unfortunate, I agree, but he’s been sentenced to more time than many people get for the same offense.
Thankfully, he’ll have to register as a sex offender, and be on supervised probation for five years when he gets out. He’s now a convicted felon and I expect that he’ll receive a ban from Safe Sport, so at least he won’t be able to resume his showjumping career when he is released, and won’t be able to attend USEF shows or teach USEF members.
I think (considering the state of our criminal justice system) that 4 years incarceration, even in a minimum security prison, is a relatively good outcome.
His (now) ex-wife I recall, was suspended by Safe Sport for “failure to report, abuse of process and retaliation”. When she appealed her suspension, her suspension time was lengthened, not shortened and I think that was a very satisfying result.
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